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IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
NEW YORK • BOSTON • CHICAGO • DALLAS
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TORONTO
IMMIGRATION
RESTRICTION
A
STUDY OF THE
OPPOSITION TO AND REGULATION OF
IMMIGRATION INTO THE
UNITED STATES
/
BY
ROY L. GARIS
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS IN
VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
1937
All rights reserved Cl
Copyright, 1927,
Bt the macmillan company.
Set up and printed.
Published August, 1927.
\
13
Printed in the United States of America by
J. T. LITTLE AND IVES COMPANY, NEW YORk
TO
MY MOTHER AND FATHER
FOREWORD
The United States of America, ? nation great in all things,
is ours today. To whom will it belong tomorrow?
Many years ago our people, proud of their institutions,
ambitious, hopeful, altruistic and sympathetic, entertained
the thought that their country was destined by an all-wise
Providence to serve as the world's great harbor of refuge to
which the ill-circumstanced of all nations might repair.
The myth of the melting pot grew and flourished. With
little or no discrimination we took unto ourselves the blood
of all classes and all climes, all races and all religions. Our
land was new. It needed development. We yearned for
growth in things material. Counting not the ultimate cost,
we invited all to come to help us build our houses and our
highways, to help us dig our coal and iron and gold, to help
us hew and plant and fabricate.
The result is too well known to require extensive com-
ment. Millions came. Today, instead of a well-knit
homogenous citizenry, we have a body politic made up of
all and every diverse element. Today, instead of a nation
descended from generations of freemen bred to a knowledge
of the principles and practices of self-government, of lib-
erty under law, we have a heterogeneous population no
small proportion of which is sprung from races that,
throughout the centuries, have known no liberty at all, and
no law save the decrees of overlords and princes. In other
words, our capacity to maintain our cherished institutions
stands diluted by a stream of alien blood, with all its
inherited misconceptions respecting the relationships of the
governing power to the governed.
It is out of an appreciation of this fundamental fact,
vague at first, but later grown firm and substantial, that the
vii
viii
FOREWORD
American people have come to sanction — indeed to de-
mand— reform of our immigration laws. They have seen,
patent and plain, the encroachments of the foreign-born
flood upon their own lives. They have come to realize that
such a flood, affecting as it does every individual of what-
ever race or origin, can not fail likewise to affect the institu-
tions which have made and preserved American liberties.
It is no wonder, therefore, that the myth of the melting pot
has been discredited. It is no wonder that Americans every-
where are insisting that their land no longer shall offer free
and unrestricted asylum to the rest of the world.
The United States is our land. If it was not the land of
our fathers, at least it may be, and it should be, the land of
our children. We intend to maintain it so. The day of un-
alloyed welcome to all peoples, the day of indiscriminate
acceptance of all races, has definitely ended.
Albert Johnson,
Chairman, Committee on Immigration and Naturalization, House of
Representatives, Washington, D. C.
PREFACE
No field of modern discussion has been so marred by
prejudice as the immigration problem. Blood has been not
only thicker than water but more compelling than the cooler
processes of thought. The average man has thought of the
immigration problem in terms of himself or of his immediate
ancestry. Although all Americans, except the Indians, are
in a sense immigrants, yet from the first years of our gov-
ernment to the present hour, those who have been prior in
point of time have looked with no little misgivings on the
stream of immigrants that have followed them. Race prej-
udice has too often controlled legislation tow^ards the new
comers. But, on the other hand, the policy of the wide open
door has sometimes been carried to the point where it
seemed to careful observers that the distinctively American
spirit in community life, in government, in industry, might
be jeopardized.
The most amazing thing about the immigration problem
is the likeness of the arguments of one generation to the
contentions of another. The points of view and prejudices
of many sons are like unto their fathers'. Here, as in other
enduring issues, there seems to be no new thing under the
sun. How important, then, is the task of every citizen to
think through the immigration question for himself, to free
himself from bias, to seek only the truth ! The great debates
and changes in the immigration policy in the past illuminate
the future; it is rank folly to attempt the solution of the
problem in 1927 by century-old prejudices and to ignore the
history of the attempts that have been made to deal fairly
with ourselves and with the strangers knocking at our gates.
A study of the development of the opposition to immi-
gration into this country is a continuous illustration of the
iz
X
PREFACE
principle set forth by Dicey that in even the most demo-
cratic countries "the opinion which changes the law is in
one sense the opinion of the time when the law is actually
altered; in another sense it has often been — the opinion
prevalent some twenty or thirty years before that time; it
has been as often as not in reality the opinion not of to-day,
but of yesterday." ^
Many persons believe that the opposition to immigration
is a thing of recent years. Yet as one seeks for the origin
of the opposition to immigration, it is necessary to go fur-
ther and further back into our history, even to early colonial
days. There we find the colonists with hostile feelings to-
ward the immigrants who were entering, while a bitter
opposition found expression in colonial laws against certain
undesirable classes, especially against paupers, criminals,
the indentured classes and against certain religious sects,
especially the Catholics. From those earliest days to the
present time there has been a developing opposition to
immigration, greater at some periods in our history than at
other periods, yet always in evidence. Frequently it failed
to result in legislation. Yet the arguments grew stronger
and the demand for restriction and selection grew greater,
until first the states under their police powers and then the
Federal Government under its commercial powers passed
legislation designed to solve the problems resulting from
immigration.
To understand present day legislation one should study
the development of this opposition to really appreciate the
fact that the legislation of to-day is not a thing of the
moment but the product of almost two hundred years of
study and thought by the American people. Virtually
every argument, every means of restriction, and every
method of investigation used in recent years has been used
or recommended at various times in our history for over
a hundred years.
No book to-day presents this side of the picture in any
* Dicey, "Law and Public Opinion in England," pp. 7, 32.
PREFACE
xi
adequate manner. It has been my purpose to trace the
development of the opposition to immigration from the
earliest colonial days to the present time. At the same
time I have tried to keep the other side of the problem ever
before the reader. References to any standard text on the
subject will enlarge such points noted throughout the study.
The accumulation of evidence has led me to believe in the
necessity of immigration restriction. However, in tracing
the development of the opposition to immigration and the
legislation that has resulted therefrom, it has not been my
purpose in this study to judge the merit and truthfulness
of the causes of the opposition and legislation. Hence, I
have sought to point out only the particular grounds on
which these rest. For, it has been impossible in one vol-
ume to present the picture of developing opposition and
at the same time to pass judgment thereon in any detailed
manner. However, the author will have accomplished his
purpose if he causes a stimulation of interest in the prob-
lem by presenting this neglected side of the subject.
Roy L. Garis.
CONTENTS
PAQB
Foreword
Vll
By Hon. Albert Johnson, Chairman, Committee on Immi-
gration and Naturalization, House of Representatives.
Preface
IX
CHAPTER
I Colonial Regulation of Immigration .... 1
Immigration into the United States: Its growth — Periods
— The colonies English in structure — Colonial ideals — The
southern colonists — The northern colonists — The Dutch —
The Scotch-Irish — The Germans — The French Huguenots
— The indentured classes — Pauper and criminal classes —
Colonial legislation and opposition — Results — Conclusions.
II Opposition to and Regulation of Immigration
State regulation prior to 1792 — Washington's policy during
Revolutionary War — His later views — Views of Adams,
Franklin and Jefferson — Constitutional provisions concern-
ing foreigners — Early naturalization laws — AHen and Sedi-
tion Laws — Early nineteenth century views — State legis-
lation— Resolutions in Congress — Pauper and criminal im-
migration— Consular reports — Other causes of hostility to
immigration — Riots against Catholics and Germans — Na-
tive Americanism — Presidential elections of 1844 and 1852
— The American Party — Opposition in the fifties — Obsta-
cles to Federal legislation.
III Power of Congress Over Immigration .... 59
Congressional authority under Article I, Section 9 of the
Constitution — Cases — The internal police power of the
states — Cases — Congressional authority over immigration
under the power to regulate commerce — Cases — Conclu-
sions.
IV Federal Immigration Legislation to 1914 . . . 83
Earlv Acts of Congress— Act of 1875— Act of 1882— Acts
of 1885, 1887, 1888— Ford Committee Report— Act of 1891
—Acts of 1893— Act of 1894— Recommendations of Presi-
dent Roosevelt in 1<X)1— Act of 1903— Minor Acts— Act of
1907— Act of 1910— Act of 1913— Conclusions.
1775-1882
22
xiii
xiv
CONTENTS
V Federal Immigration Legislation 1914-1921 . . 117
Recommendations of the Immigration Commission — Pub-
lic opinion and the hteracy test — The Immigration Act of
1917— Act of December 26, 1920— The AHen Anarchist
Act of 1918-1920— Act of May 10, 1920— Act of June 5,
1920— Summary.
VI The Emergency Quota Legislation 1921-1924 . 142
Purpose of the Act of May 19, 1921 — Provisions of the
act — The first year of its operation — Problems created by
it — Its life extended for two years by the Act of May 11,
1922 — The second year under the law — The third year un-
der the law — Effects on the old and new immigration — Net
immigration into the United States — Immigration by races
' or peoples — English-speaking immigrants — Conclusion.
VII The Immigration Act of 1924 169
President Coolidge's recommendations on Immigration —
History of the Johnson Bill — Provisions of the new law —
Non-immigrant classes — Non-quota immigrants — The case
• for aliens now here without their immediate families —
Alien wives of American citizens — Travel permits for
aliens now here — Provisions concerning ministers, profes-
sors and students — The quota provisions — Preferences with-
in the quotas — Provisions concerning immigration visas —
Penal provisions — Provisions to check illegal entry of im-
migrants as seamen — Burden of proof on the alien — This
act is additional legislation on immigration — Sources of
opposition.
VIII Back to 1890 203
The history and characteristics of the "old" and "new"
immigration — The Italian Immigrants — The Slavs — The
Russian immigrants — The Jewish immigration — Views of
various authorities on immigration — The test of naturaliza-
tion— The army tests — Report of Dr. H. H. Laughlin of the
Carnegie Institute — Analysis of the quotas based on the
census of 1890 — The criticism of discrimination is without
foundation — Census of 1890 creates equalization rather than
discrimination — The National Origins Plan.,
IX Chinese Immigration 286
Causes of early opposition to Chinese — Early state and
municipal legislation against them — Early treaties — The
Burlingame treaty of 1868 — President Grant's recommen-
dation— Congressional investigation — The Committee's Re-
port—Act of 1875— The treaty of 1880— Act of 1882—
Act of 1884— The unratified treaty of 1888— Acts of 1888
—Cases— Act of 1892— Cases— Act of 1893— Treaty of
1894— Act of 1894— Acts of 1900— Act of 1902— Act of 1904
— Conchi.sions on Chinese immigration — Act of 1917 —
Hindu iiiinii,"ration.
CONTENTS
XV
CHAPTER
PAGE
X Japanese Immigration .
308
Analysis of the Japanese population in the United States
— Japanese and Chinese immigration compared — Japanese
in Hawaii — Causes and results of Japanese emigration —
The development of anti-Japanese agitation in the United
States — California's position — Act of 1907 — The Gentle-
men's Afi;roement — Treaties of 1894 and 1911 — Criticisms
of the Agreement — House Report 350 — History of the
Japanese exclusion clause — Effect of the Hanihara
letter — The bill in conference — The fear of a treaty —
Passage — Japan's protest — Analysis of the law — Japanese
opinion — American opinion — Japanese fear of and protest
against discriminatory legislation — Views of American
officials — Conclusions.
Bibliography
355
Index
373
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
CHAPTER I
Colonial Regulation of Immigration
Immigration into United States: Its Growth — Periods — The colonies
English in structure — Colonial ideals — The southern colonists — The northern
colonists — The Dutch — The Scotch-Irish — The Germans — The French
Huguenots — The Indentured classes — Pauper and criminal classes — Colo-
nial legislation and opposition — Results — Conclusions.
The immigration problem is almost as old as immigration
itself; and that means, in American history, almost coter-
minous with the settlement of the country. For, the peo-
pling of the continent has been well-nigh from the beginning
due to immigration, rather than to the natural increase of
those already within the country.
In 1640 the population of the colonies was 25,000. In
1660 the population had increased to 80,000; and in 1689
to about 200,000. The half-million mark was passed in
1721; the million mark in 1743; and the two million mark
in 1767. At the outbreak of the Revolution «the population
numbered about two and one-half million. When the first
census was taken in 1790, the population, exclusive of Ver-
mont and the territory northwest of the Ohio, was a little
short of four million, viz., 3,929,000. From 1790 to 1820 the
immigrants numbered about a quarter of a million; in the
early twenties the annual influx of immigrants was about
ten or twelve thousand; in the late twenties about twenty
thousand. In 1837, just before the panic, the annual immi-
gration was 79,000. By 1842 the figures of annual immigra-
tion had reached 100,000; by 1854, 428,000. Then, owing
first to the bad times and later to the war, the figures fell
1
2
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
off, increasing again subsequently until in 1873, just before
the panic, when immigration equaled 459,000. Thereafter
the high- and low-water marks of annual immigration
varied with good and bad times. By 1882 the high-water
mark was 789,000. It was not until the present century
that the annual immigration exceeded a million, the net
increase in 1907 being 1,050,000. The gross immigration
in that year was 1,285,000, a figure almost reached again
in 1914 when the gross immigration was 1,218,000; although
in that year the net increase was only 769,000. Every year
from 1900 to 1914 saw virtually a million or more immi-
grants enter our gates.
''The history of immigration into the United States may
for convenience be divided into five periods. The first of
these includes the time between the first settlement of the
North American colonies and the year 1783. This date is
chosen for the end of this first period because, as Professor
Mayo-Smith has expressed it, 'At that time the state was
established and any further additions to the population had
little influence in changing its form or the language and cus-
toms of the people.' ^ The second period, from 1783 to 1830,
may be called the period of 'free immigration'. It coincides
with the beginning of our independent life, and the begin-
ning of immigration as a distinctly American national prob-
lem, lit was a period of small immigration, and may be
designated as the period of free immigration because no
attempt was made by any governmental agency to control
the movement. The action of the Federal Government
in beginning to count the immigrants in 1820 is of great
importance as marking the beginning of our immigration
statistics. The third period begins with 1830 and ends in
1882. It may be called the period of 'agitation and state
regulation'. The year 1830 is chosen rather arbitrarily as
representing better than any other assignable date the
appearance of a new sentiment toward immigration on the
part of the American people. The fourth period, from 1882
to 1917, is marked by the passage of two important pieces
* Mayo-Smith, R., Emigration and Immigration, p. 36.
COLONIAL REGULATION OF IMMIGRATION 3
of legislation, and may be called the period of 'federal con-
trol: individual selection'. The final period, from 1917 to
the present, may be designated the period of 'federal con-
trol: group selection and restriction.' ^
The first attempts to found colonies in this country by
Sir Humphrey Gilbert and Sir Walter Raleigh were pitiable
failures. But the settlement on the James River in 1607
marked the beginning of a nation — a nation that was cer-
tainly English in its foundation, whatever may be said of
the superstructure. Virginia, New England, Maryland, the
Carolinas, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Georgia were
begun by Englishmen; and New England, Virginia, and
Maryland remained almost entirely English throughout the
seventeenth century and well into the eighteenth. ''For-
eigners" began early to straggle into the colonies. But not
until the eighteenth century was well under way did
they come in appreciable numbers, and even then the
great bulk of these non-English newcomers were from the
British Isles, of Welsh, Scotch, Irish, and Scotch-Irish
extraction.
"These colonies reproduced, in so far as their strange and
wild surroundings permitted, the towns, the estates, and the
homes of Englishmen of that day. They were organized
and governed by Englishmen under English customs and
laws; and the Englishman's constitutional liberties were
their boast until the colonies wrote these rights and priv-
ileges into a constitution of their own." ^
These colonies took root at a time when profound social
and religious changes were occurring in England. Church-
men and dissenters were at war with each other ; autocracy
was struggling to survive the representative system; and
agrarianism was contending with a newly created capitalism
for economic supremacy. The old order was changing.
Vain attempts were made to stay the progress of the time
by labor, poor, and corn laws. However, these laws only
served to fill the highways with vagrants, vagabonds, men-
*Fairchild, Immigration (rev. ed.), pp. 31-2.
^ Orth, S. P., Our Foreigners, p. 6.
4
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
dicants, beggars and worse. Under conditions then existing
it was felt that the country was overpopulated. It was for
these — for the restive, the discontented, the ambitious, as
well as for the undesirable surplus, that the American colo-
nies provided a welcome outlet.
To the southern plantations were lured those to whom
land own'ing offered not only a means of livelihood but
social distinction. These settlers were, in part, adventurers;
younger sons of noble families who disdained trade but
were too poor to keep up family pretensions; professional
men, lawyers, doctors and even clergymen who were ambi-
tious to become landed gentlemen; and other members of
the aristocracy who found it advisable to leave England,
and, in part, rather unworthy representatives of the lower
classes. A combination of political, social, and economic
causes was responsible for their coming.
The northern colonies were settled by a different class of
the population. They were settled by the Separatists and
Puritans whose motive for coming was primarily of a reli-
gious character, and by the town-folk, by that sturdy middle
class which had wedged its way socially between the aris-
tocracy and the peasantry, which asserted itself politically
in the Cromwellian Commonwealth and later became the
industrial master of trade and manufacture.
The Dutch came to Manhattan in 1623, taking posses-
sion of this unassigned central region. Although they held
sway over the region in which they settled for only fifty
years, yet it was long enough to stamp upon New Amster-
dam the cosmopolitan character it has ever since main-
tained. For, ^'the same spirit that made Holland the lenient
host to political and religious refugees from every land in
that restive age characterized her colony and laid the foun-
dations of the great city of to-day." ^ With the growth of
the English colonies in the North and South, this central
territory in the hands of a foreign power came to be recog-
nized as a source of annoyance and danger, for, due to its
geographical location, it threatened to split the English colo-
^Orth, S. P., op. cit., p. 14.
COLONIAL REGULATION OF IMMIGRATION 5
nies. Faced with such a possibility, on the occasion of a war
with Holland, England took possession of this region with-
out serious opposition; and from it formed the colonies of
New York and New Jersey.
When the territory of Pennsylvania was granted for set-
tlement to William Penn in 1681, the whole Atlantic coast
from Canada to Florida became a field of colonization, sub-
ject only to English authority. The foundation of the
United States thus consisted of colonists from England.
However, in addition to the colonists, people from practi-
cally every country on the continent came to these English
colonies. These were the true immigrants and for the most
part they came to the central colonies, especially to New
York and Pennsylvania. These were, in particular, the
Scotch-Irish, the Germans or Palatines, and the French
Huguenots.
^ The most important and influential influx of non-English
stock into the colonies was the copious stream of Scotch-
Irish, who were called Scots because they lived originally
in Scotia and Irish because they moved to Ireland, although
they were "very little Scotch and much less Irish." ^ Fron-
tier life was not a new experience to these hardy and
remarkable people, for when they migrated to Ulster it was
a wild moorland and the Irish were more than unfriendly
neighbors. Yet, within three generations they had changed
the fens and mires into fields and gardens and had built
flourishing towns and were doing a thriving manufacture
in linens and woolens. Early in the eighteenth century in
her mercantilist blindness, England began to pass legislation
that discriminated against and cut off these articles from
English competition. Nor was the British Parliament con-
tent with this, for it also discriminated against Presbyter-
ianism. Since these Scotch-Irish were Presbyterians, their
religion was thus subject to attack. Furthermore, their
hundred year leases were running out and the low-living
Irish began to outbid them by offering to pay higher rents.
These civil, religious and economic persecutions thereupon
° Commons, Races and Immigrants in America, p. 32.
6
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
provoked the largest immigration into the colonies that oc-
curred before the Revolution.
Entire congregations came, each headed by its pastor.
Between 1714 and 1720, fifty-four ships arrived in Boston
with immigrants from Ireland. It is said that in 1718
forty- two hundred of them left for America, and that after
the famine of 1740 at least twelve thousand departed an-
nually. In the half century preceding the American Revo-
lution one hundred fifty thousand or mote, perhaps two
hundred thousand, came to America, and on the eve of the
Revolution the stock was supposed to constitute a sixth of
the population of the colonies.
lixlt is most interesting to note how the colonists felt toward
these Scotch-Irish immigrants. Cotton Mather wrote in his
diary on August 7, 1718: ''But what shall be done for the
great number of people that are transporting themselves
thither from ye North of Ireland?" John Winthrop, speak-
ing of twenty ministers and their congregations that were
expected the same year, said, "I wish their coming so over
do not prove fatall in the End." i/In 1728 an Irish arch-
bishop lamented that, ''The whole North is in a ferment."
"It looks as if Ireland were to send all her inhabitants
hither," \)complained the governor of Pennsylvania. The
great mass of the Scotch-Irish came to Pennsylvania, and
in such large numbers that James Logan, the Secretary of
the Province, wrote to the Proprietors in alarm in 1729,
"last week not less than six ships arrived, and every day
two or three arrive also."
From this it is evident that they were not always wel-
come. At the time of their arrival the lands along the
Atlantic coast were already well occupied. It is evident
that they had no intention of burdening the towns; but, true
to their traditions, they pushed on to the frontier, where
they settled and bore the brunt of the warfare with the sav-
age. Thus, due to the religious exclusiveness of Massa-
chusetts and the well-settled character of the country, as
well as due to a more or less general feeling of hostility of
the English colonists toward certain types of immigrants,
COLONIAL REGULATION OF IMMIGRATION 7
they chose as their destination New Hampshire, Vermont,
Western Massachusetts, and Maine, and, most of all, Penn-
. sylvania, and the foothill regions of Virginia and the Caro-
linas. By nature typical pioneers, they pushed into western
Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. ^They
found their way over the mountain trails into the western
part of the colony of Pennsylvania; they pushed southward
along the fertile plateaus that terrace the Blue Ridge Moun-
tains and offer a natural highway to the South; into Vir-
ginia where they possessed themselves of the beautiful
Shenandoah Valley; into Maryland and the Carolinas; until
the whole western frontier from Georgia to New York and
from Massachusetts to Maine, was the skirmish line of the
Scotch-Irish taking possession of the wilderness/' ^ It was
owing to them that the Quakers and Germans of Pennsyl-
vania were left undisturbed to live up to their ideals of
peace and non-resistance. No other element was so master-
ful and contentious. The Quakers characterized them as
a ^^pernicious ana pugnacious people who absolutely want
to control the province themselves." 'They fought the
Indians, fought the British with great unanimity in two
wars, and were in the front rank in the conquest of the
West. More than any other stock has this tough, gritty
breed, so lacking in poetry and sensibility, molded our na-
tional character." ^
Germantown, near Philadelphia, was founded in 1683 by
a group of religious refugees from the Rhineland. Other
German communities were started in the neighboring coun-
ties. ''Chief among these German sectarians were the Men-
nonites, frequently called the German Quakers; the Bunk-
ers, a Baptist sect, who seem to have come from Germany
boot and baggage, leaving not one of their number behind ;
and the Moravians, whose missionary zeal and gentle de-
meanor have made them beloved in many lands." ^
William Penn established the colony of Pennsylvania
'•Orth, S. P, op. p. 12.
' Ross, E. A., The Old World in the New, p. 13.
'Orth, S. P., op. cit., p. 13.
8
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
both as a refuge for the persecuted Quakers of England and
as a real estate venture. ''He was the first American to ad-
vertise his dominions widely throughout Europe, offering to
sell one hundred acres of land at two English pounds and
a low rental. His advertisements combined humanity and
business, for they called attention to popular government
and universal suffrage ; equal rights to all regardless of race
or religious belief; trial by jury; murder and treason the
only capital crimes, and reformation, not retaliation, the
object of punishment for other offenses.'' ^ Although set-
tled a half century later than the Southern and Northern
Colonies, Pennsylvania soon exceeded them in population.
Penn sent his agents to Germany, who persuaded large
numbers of German Quakers and Pietists to emigrate to his
colony. In the beginning of the eighteenth century when
Louis XIV overran the Palatinate, thousands of Germans
fled to England, where they were encouraged by the Eng-
lish government to migrate to America. Queen Anne even
invited the harassed peasants of this region to come to
England, whence they could be transferred to America.
Over thirty thousand took advantage of the opportunity in
the years 1708 and 1709. So great was the furor to reach
the new world that ''ship after ship breasted the Delaware,
black with Palatines, Hanoverians, Saxons, Austrians and
Swiss." 11
Vast numbers of these penniless Germans, who could not
get to America in any other way, overcame the cost barrier,
equal to about $500 to-day, by contracting with ship owners
to sell themselves into servitude for a term of years. In
this way thousands of the poorer sort of Germans were
induced to indenture themselves to the settlers to whom
they were auctioned off by the ship captains in payment for
transportation. Then, too, after 1717 multitudes of Ger-
man peasants were lured to America by unscrupulous agents
called "new-landers" or "soul-stealers", who, for a commis-
° Commons, op. cit., pp. 29-30.
Fi.'^ke, The Dutch and Qvakcr Colonics in America, vol. II, p. 351.
" Rofc.s, op. cit., p. 11.
COLONIAL REGULATION OF IMMIGRATION 9
sion paid by the ship master, lured the peasant to sell his
belongings, scrape together or borrow what he could, and
migrate. Since but few arrived in America out of debt they
were sold to ''soul-drivers," who took them into the interior
and indentured them to farmers, usually of their own race.
After serving from three to five years these redemptioners
generally received fifty acres of land.
Before the Revolution not fewer than 60,000 Germans
had debarked at Philadelphia, to say nothing of the others
who had settled in New York in the Mohawk Valley, and
thousands of others in the South. But, by far the most of
them settled in Pennsylvania, where, ''with an instinct born
of generations of contact with the soil, they sought out the
most promising areas in the limestone valleys of the eastern
part of that colony, cleared the land, built their solid homes
and ample barns, and clung to their language, customs, and
religion so tenaciously that to this day their descendants are
called 'Pennsylvania Dutch'."
The virtues of these Germans were economic virtues ; in-
variably they have been characterized as "quiet, industrious,
and thrifty." They have been characterized also as perhaps
the most miserable and the most hopeful set of people ever
set down on our shores. In spite of their poverty, they
manifested a stern and determined spirit in their fight for
their faith and home.
While it would seem from what we have written that they
were welcomed into the colonies, yet this was not always
the case. In 1710 several thousand of them, who had ar-
rived in New York, were given such illiberal treatment that
they moved into Pennsylvania. It is recorded that "they
were welcomed by the New York colonists with privation,
distress, fraud, and cruel disappointment. They were
cheated and oppressed, their helplessness making them easy
victims."
That they were not always welcome in Pennsylvania and
that at least at various times a feeling of hostility existed
against them even there is evident from the writings of
"Orth, S. P, op. cit., p. 14.
10
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
Benjamin Franklin. In his ''Observations on the Increase
of Mankind," he wrote in 1751 : ''Why should the Palatine
boors be suffered to swarm into our settlements and by herd-
ing together establish their language and manners to the ex-
clusion of ours? Why should Pennsylvania, founded by
England, become a colony of aliens, who will shortly be so .
numerous as to Germanize us instead of our Anglifying :
them?" 1- In a letter to Peter Collinson, dated May 9,
1753, he wrote, "The Germans who come hither are gener-
ally the most stupid of their own nation, and as ignorance is
often attended by credulity when knavery would mislead it
. . . it is almost impossible to remove any prejudices
they may entertain. . . . Not being used to liberty
they know not how to make a modest use of it.^^ Unless
the stream of importation could be turned from this to other
colonies, they will soon outnumber us, that all the advan-
tages we have will not be able to preserve our language and
even our government will become precarious."
On the revocation of the Edict of Nantes by Louis XIV
in 1685 French Protestants fled in vast numbers to England
and Holland7Tronrwhidi countries many of them found
their way to America. But few of them came hither directly
from France. South Carolina, Virginia, New York, Rhode
Island, and Massachusetts were favored by these noble refu-
gees, who included in their numbers not only skilled artisans
and successful merchants, but distinguished scholars and
professional men in whose veins flowed some of the best
blood of France. Probably no stock ever came here so i
gifted and prepotent as these French Huguenots. They I
readily identified themselves with the industry and aspira-
tions of the colonies and at once became the leaders in
the professional and business life in their communities.
Although only a few thousands in numbers, their descend-
ants furnished 589 of the fourteen thousand and more
Americans deemed worthy of a place in "Appleton's Cyclo-
" Works of Benjamin Franklin, ed. by John Bigelow, 1887, Vol. II, p. 233.
"This is an argument frequently heard in recent years in favor of re-
striction of immigration.
^*Ibid., pp. 297-299.
COLONIAL REGULATION OF IMMIGRATION 11
pedia of American Biography". In 1790 only one-half of
one percent, of our people bore a French name, yet this
element contributed 4.2 percent, of the eminent names in
our history. ''In Boston, in Charleston, in New York, and
in other commercial centers, the n^mes of streets, squares,
and public buildings attest their prominence in trade and
politics." ''Like the Puritans and the Quakers, the
Huguenots were of an element that meets the test of fire
and makes supreme sacrifices for conscience' sake. They
had the same afiinity for ideals and the same tenacity of
character as the founders of New England, but in their
French blood they brought a sensibility, a fervor, and an
artistic endowment all their own."
In our study of the colonial opposition to immigration it
is necessary that we consider one peculiar class, the inden-
tured servants or redemptioners. They were, for the most
part, colonists rather than immigrants, although many were
brought from countries other than England. Some were
brought under compulsion; the others came voluntarily.
The former consisted of convicted criminals and kidnaped
persons; the latter were respectable but destitute persons,
who, despairing of success or progress in the old country,
sold themselves into temporary slavery, usually for a term
of five years, to pay their passage over. Many of the latter
came from very good classes of society.
While there were many of these "free-willers" or "redemp-
tioners", yet the great mass of unskilled labor necessary to
clear the forests and do the other hard work so plentiful in
a pioneer land came to America under duress. Boys and
girls of the poorer classes were hustled on board ships and
virtually sold into slavery for a term of years. Kidnaping
or "spiriting" became a fine art under Charles II. Slums
and alleys were raked for material to stock the plantations.
Hard-hearted men sold dependent kinsfolk to serve in the
colonies. About 1670 no fewer than ten thousand persons
were "spirited" away from England in one year. One kid-
naper testified in 1671 that he had sent five hundred per-
"Orth, S. P., op. cit., p. 16. "Ross, E. A., op. cii., p. 10.
12
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
sons a year to the colonies for twelve years and another
testified that he had sent 840 in one year. The government
was slow to strike at this infamous traffic; for, as was urged
in Parliament, ''the plantations cannot be maintained with-
out a considerable number of white servants."
Transportation of the idle poor was another common
practice of the day. In 1663 an Act was passed by Parlia-
ment empowering Justices of the Peace to send rogues, va-
grants, and sturdy beggars to the colonies. So many were
sent that Dr. Johnson deemed the Americans "a race of con-
victs", who ''ought to be content with anything we allow
them short of hanging". In the first century of the colonies,
gallows'-birds were often given the option of servitude in
the plantations. Some prayed to be hanged instead. In
1717 the British Government entered on the policy of penal
transportation, and thenceforth discharged certain classes
of felons upon the colonies. It is estimated that possibly
as many as fifty thousand criminals were sent to America
from the British Isles, from the year 1717 until the practice
was ended by the American Revolution. New England
escaped these "seven-year passengers", because she would
pay little for them and then she had no tobacco to serve as
a profitable return cargo. It is estimated that between 1750
and 1770 twenty thousand British convicts were exported
to Maryland alone. The southern colonies received a much
larger number of indented servants of all classes than the
northern colonies, as the semiplantation character of the
former made a much larger demand for servile labor than
the farm colonies of the north.
Ship masters made an enormous profit from this traffic,
adding as much as 100 percent, of the actual cost of trans-
portation to cover risks. As a rule the indentured servants
were auctioned ofi" to the highest bidder at a public auction.
Adults were bound out for a term of three to six years, chil-
dren from ten to fifteen years, and smaller children were,
without charge, surrendered to masters who had to rear and
board them. The lot of the indentured servant was not
ordinarily a hard one. Here and there masters were cruel
"Fiske, Old Virginia and Her Neighbors, Vol. II, pp. 177 ff.
COLONIAL REGULATION OF IMMIGRATION 13
and inhuman. But in a new country where hands were so
few and work so abundant, it was wisdom to be tolerant and
humane. Servants who had worked out their time usually
became tenants or freeholders, often moving to other colo-
nies and later to the interior beyond the fall line, where
they became pioneers in their turn.
J/Most of the colonies bitterly resented such cargoes, but
their self-protective measures were regularly disallowed by
the selfish home government. As long as they were colonies
and had no independent standing, their opposition could be
little more than a complaint. Later, however, when they
became independent, it became a matter of international
I relations.
i Virginia received its share of human chaff. The Council
of Virginia early complained that ^^it hurteth to suffer par-
ents to disburden themselves of lascivious sonnes, masters
of bad servants and wives of ill husbands, and so clogge the
business with such an idle crue, as did thrust themselves in
the last voiage, that will rather starve for hunger, than lay
their hands to labor." In 1637 the collector of the port of
London averred that ''most of those that go thither ordi-
narily have no habitation . . . and are better out than
-within the kingdom."
/ Colonial legislation to protect society against the evils
' growing out of the introduction into this country of foreign
criminals and paupers, commenced simultaneously with the
settlement of the first colonists. As early as 1639 the Pil-
i grim settlers of Massachusetts, at Plymouth, required the
removal of foreign paupers. Their next step was to
I require indemnity from the master. The same power
was also early exercised by Virginia, not only to guard
\ against the importation of paupers, but others. So it
was by other colonies. Pennsylvania had, from its first set-
tlement, a law ''for imposing a duty upon persons convicted
of heinous crimes and imported into the Province," and
Colonial Charters, 1639 and '92, p. 252. This would seem to be the
first case of deportation from this country.
^''Statute in William III, Ch. 13.
' Tucker's Edition, Black Comm., Vol. II, App. 33.
14
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
another ^'for laying a duty on foreigners and Irish servants,
etc.; imported into the Province.'' These were, however,
repealed as early as 1729-30, and a more stringent law was
passed in their stead.
The middle Atlantic colonies, especially Pennsylvania,
suffered most from the importation of paupers and crim-
inals. Consequently, in this colony we find the most power-
ful body of opinion contrary to the free admission of aliens,
and the most frequent and stringent measures to control it.
Many of the stock arguments against immigration on the
grounds of pauperism, criminality, and inability for self
support developed during this period.
We have already noted the early opposition to the coming
of the Scotch-Irish and the Germans in such large num-
bers. We mentioned also a few laws passed to protect the
colonies. It is worth while for us to analyze these and other
laws further.
The act passed in 1722 in Pennsylvania, imposing a tax
on every criminal landed and making the ship owner re-
sponsible for the good conduct of his passengers, was fol-
lowed by numerous other laws designed to help control
the immigration situation. One of the earliest instances
of the use of the non-assimilation argument that resulted
in legislation to restrict immigration was when an act was
passed September 21, 1727, in Pennsylvania at the sug-
gestion of the colonial governor, who feared that the peace
and security of the province was endangered by so many
foreigners coming in, ignorant of the language, settling to-
gether and making a separate people, or as we would say
today, a foreign colony. 'The act in question provided that
ship masters bringing immigrants must declare whether
they had permission from the court of Great Britain to do
so, and must give lists of all passengers and their inten-
tions in coming. The immigrants must take the oath of
allegiance to the king, and of fidelity to the proprietary of
the Province,"
^Dallas; Edition of Laws of Pennsylvania, Vol. I, p. 252.
^Fairchild, op. dt., p. 45.
COLONIAL REGULATION OF IMMIGRATION 15
It seems that although this law remained in force for
a while, it was virtually a dead letter, for the ship masters
did not get the required license to bring in the immigrants,
and yet the latter were always admitted."^ v Iii order '^to
discourage the great importation and coming in of for-
eigners and of lewd, idle and ill-affected persons into this
province, as well from parts beyond the seas as from the
neighboring colonies," (a tax of forty shilling was laid on
each immigrant by a law passed in 1729 which is quite an
early instance of the use of a head tax as a restrictive meas-
ure.-^ While it was repealed within a few months it is
an evidence of a colonial hostility to certain undesirable
types of immigration./' In order to prevent sick and dis-
eased persons (there were many of them) from entering
the colony, a law was passed requiring all ships to anchor
a mile from the city until inspected by the port physician.
The shipmaster was required to land all sick persons
found on board at a suitable distance from the city and to
convey them at his own expense to houses in the country
prepared for them.^^ Efforts were also made to check the
overcrowding of immigrants in ships, both for humane
reasons and in order to reduce the number of immigrants.
Facts were presented to show that whereas the German im-
portations were at first of good class and people of sub-
stance, now they were the refuse of the country, and that
''the very gaols have contributed to the Supplies we are
burdened with."
We have already noted that thousands of criminals were
sent to Maryland. On account of this practice, the general
assembly of the province in 1676 passed an act requiring all
shipmasters to declare whether they had any convicts on
board, the purpose being to prohibit them from landing
in the province. A fine of two thousand pounds of tobacco,
half to go to the Proprietary and half to the informer, was
to be imposed on anyone who attempted to import con-
^ Pennsylvania Colonial Records, 2:282ff.
^ Proper, E. E., Colonial Immigration Laws, p. 19.
^ Pennsylvania Colonial Records, 4 : 516.
16
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
victs.^^ One of the earliest instances of bonding shippers
for the good conduct of their passengers was a proclama-
tion issued December 9, 1676, by the lieutenant governor
requiring all shipmasters who had landed convicts previous
to the time this act went into effect, to deposit a bond of
£50 for their good behavior. Any landed without this bond
were to be imprisoned until it was paid.^'''
In addition to these laws against paupers and criminals,
most of the colonies passed legislation designed to prevent
the entrance of religious sects who were not regarded with
favor. Especially was this true of New England whose
religious exclusiveness eliminated the necessity of passing
other direct restrictive measures. However, an exception
to this was Massachusetts which passed an elaborate immi-
gration law in 1700 requiring shipmasters to furnish lists
of their passengers, and prohibiting the introduction of
lame, impotent or infirm persons, or those incapable of
maintaining themselves, except on security that the town
should not become charged with them. In absence of this
security, shipmasters were compelled to take them back
home. The statute was reenacted with amendments from
time to time. 2^
|'|During the seventeenth and the early part of the eigh-
teenth century, when the Dutch, Scandinavians, Swiss, Ger-
mans and French were settling in the central and southern
colonies, Massachusetts was struggling by means of legis-
lation to maintain its puritan commonwealth:^ If this was
to be done, every stranger must be regarded with suspicion
and distrust. So we find the General Court in 1637 ordering
that no town or person in the colony should receive or en-
tertain any new comer for longer than three weeks without
permission of the authorities. The severe laws passed after
1656 were designed to prevent the coming of the Quakers.
These laws and the laws against the French Jesuits un-
doubtedly kept out not only many Quakers, but other
Archives of Maryland, 2: 540. ""Ibil., 15: 3C.
^Proper, E. E., Colonial Immigration Laws, Columbia College Studies,
Vol. XII, No. 2, p. 29.
COLONIAL REGULATION OF IMMIGRATION 17
Protestants from Great Britain and Western Europe, and
Catholic laymen from Ireland and the Continent."
The class most discriminated against for religious reasons
was the Roman Catholic,^ ^ for most of the colonies passed
harsh legislation against them. Virginia, and all the New
England colonies except Rhode Island, had laws to prevent
the Quai:ers from entering.^^ A fine of £100 was imposed
on an^^one bringing a Quaker into Virginia, and those
already settled there were ordered to depart on pain of
punishment. Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Maryland
starred on the basis of religious tolerance. However, in
Maryland a prejudice against Roman Catholics soon mani-
fested itself and found expression in legislation.^^ One
such law was passed in 1699, being entitled, ''An act for
Raising a Supply toward defraying of the Publick Charge of
this Province and to prevent too great a number of Irish
Papists being imported into this Province." Massachusetts
discouraged the coming of all who did not agree with her
policy of ecclesiastical domination.^^ Virginia, whose
founders were avowed Episcopalians, wanted no non-
Conformists, and took active measures to enforce this
policy.^* . Statutes against the Catholic immigration vary
in purpose from absolute prohibition in the Puritan colo-
nies, to petty regulations and annoyances as practiced in
some of the middle colonies. These restrictions took the
form of a duty on Irish Catholic servants ; a positive prohi-
bition of the Roman worship; a double tax on their lands;
and the ''abjuration oath", which practically excluded mem-
bers of this faith, unless they chose to break their vows.^^3-
Virginia prohibited from settling in the Province all per-
sons who "affected the superstitions of the Church of
Rome."
From what has been written it is evident that there was
^ Report of the Massachusetts Commission on Immigration created under
an Act of the State approved May 2, 1913, page 25.
""Proper, E. E., op. cit., p. 13. ^Proper, E. E., op. cit., pp. 25, 63.
^'Proper, E. E., op. cit., p. 13.
^Winthrop, Lije and Letters oj Gov. Winthrop, 182.
**Hening's Statutes, I, 155. "'Proper, E. E., op. cit.. p.. 18.
18
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
at times a feeling of hostility to immigrants even in colonial
days, especially against certain religious sects and against
the pauper and criminal classes. . It is evident also tiiat vir-
tually all of the colonies received their share of human chaff
despite their vigorous protests, for the English Government
paid little attention to these colonial self -protective meas-
ures. But the important thing to note in tracing- tht de-
velopment of opposition to immigration is that many of the
thoughtful people of those days were against immigration
even when there was land in abundance and opportunity
beckoned on every hand.
It is astonishing how quickly the ''yellow streak" in the
population faded. Many of these people belonged to (hr
class of the unfortunate rather than the vicious and we:
the product of a passing state of society. No doubt tlr
worst felons were promptly hanged, so that those who ■
transported — despite the protests of Virginia and the oth
colonies — were such as excited the compassion of the cou!
in an age that recognized nearly three hundred capital
offenses. When we consider the fact that many were the
victims of bad surroundings rather than born malefactor-
that the larceny of a few shillings was punishable by death
and that many of the victims were deported because ol
religious differences and political offenses, or kidnaped and
brought over to be sold as indentured servants, then the
stigma of crime is erased. Many humane judges welcomed
exile as an alternative to the death penalty. Under the re-
generative stimulus of opportunity many of these persons
reformed, and, therefore, one does not wonder that some of
these transported persons rose to places of distinction and
honor in the colonies and that many of them became re-
spected citizens. Indeed, Maryland recruited her school
masters from among their ranks. Thus, the bad strains
tended to run out, and in the making of our people the
criminals had no share at all corresponding to their original
numbers. It was easy to make good in those days for land
was plentiful, labor scarce and opportunity beckoned on
COLONIAL REGULATION OF IMMIGRATION 19
every hand. But today the immigrant's labor is usually
considered no more than any other commodity to be bought
at the lowest price, and opportunity is like a jack-o-lantern
or like the pot of gold at the foot of the rainbow.
It is also important to note that out of this colonial oppo-
sition to immigration most of the stock arguments against
unrestricted immigration were developed, and some of
the later important legislative expedients for restriction,
such as the head tax, the bonding of shippers, the exclusion
of paupers and criminals, etc., were put into practice. One
present-day argument against immigration was not then
used, viz., an opposition to immigration on the grounds of
the economic competition of the newcomer with the older
residents, which, considering the economic opportunity of
those days, is self-explanatory.
In addition to noting, as we did at the opening of this
chapter, that the total number of persons coming to the
colonies during this period was slight when compared to
present day immigration, it is also necessary to point out
that the population, while containing a number of diverse
elements, was still predominantly English when the Revo-
lution began, and that those who were not English were
almost wholly from races closely allied to the English.
These were principally the Dutch, Swedes, Germans, and
Scotch-Irish, which with the English, as Professor Commons
has pointed out, ''were less than two thousand years ago
one Germanic race in the forests surrounding the North
Sea." He also adds the significant statement that ''It is
the distinctive fact regarding colonial immigration that it
was Teutonic in blood and Protestant in religion." "This
Protestantism was important because of the type of mind
and of character that Protestantism at that day represented.
It stood for independence of thought, moral conviction,
courage, and hardihood."
' When Father Jogues visited New Netherlands in 1644 he
Commons, op. cit., p. 27.
" Fairchild, op. cit., p. 54.
20
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
found that eighteen different languages were spoken in
Manhattan.^^ In New Haarlem, in 1661, the male popu- ;
lation consisted of Frenchmen, Walloons, Dutchmen, Danes,
Swedes, and Germans. It was said that every language of ;
Europe could be found in Pennsylvania. Professor Mc-
Master, writing of the later colonial period, says, ^'Diverse
as the inhabitants of the states were in occupations, they j
were not less diverse in opinions, in customs and in habits. ]
. . . Differences of race, differences of nationality, of i
religious opinions, of manners, of tastes, even of speech, were
still distinctly marked." Yet as a result of the common \
racial character of the migration, assimilation was easy,
quick, and complete and all diversity was short-lived. '
Thus, "by the time of the Revolution there was a definite
American population, knit together by over two centuries j
of toil in the hard school of frontier life, inspired by com-
mon political purposes, speaking one language, worshipping
one God in divers manners, acknowledging one sovereignty,
and complying with the mandates of one common law."
In summarizing our study of the colonial opposition to
immigration we are forced to conclude that the anti- (jl
immigration laws passed by the colonial legislatures were,
broadly speaking, very meager in their effect as restrictive |
or prohibitive measures. Yet to preserve the ideals which m
led to the settlement of the colonies, it seemed to many of
them necessary to ascertain carefully the character of the
prospective settlers and to exclude those whom they, for
any reason, deemed unfit to become associates in their proj-
ect. \ The rigorous measures of the New England colonies
practically excluded immigrants from other nations than
England, and even limited those from the mother country <
to persons of a definite political and religious belief. This '
co^-onial opposition to immigration had its effect in the
other colonies also, for it not only kept out or at least
checked certain undesirable classes, but those who entered
Father Jogues, Novum Belgium in Jameson, Narrative of New Nether-
lands, 1609-1664.
'"Orth, S. P., op. cit., p. 23.
COLONIAL REGULATION OF IMMIGRATION 21
were sometimes forced to move on to the frontier. It must
not be inferred then from the statement that the results of
restriction were meager, that these laws were therefore
useless. On the contrary, they were an important factor
in the development of colonial life. It was partly on ac-
count of these restrictions and prohibitions that the dif-
ferent colonies were enabled to maintain their character-
istic existence and preserve their political and religious
ideal^,*^"^ One commentator has expressed the view that ''it
was due largely to these very measures that the colonies,
especially Virginia and New England, have given to this
country the ideals of government and social order that
have made America what she is today. It was largely he-
cause of these measures that there has been a Massa-
chusetts and a Virginia."
^''See Proper, E. E., Colonial Immigroiion Laws.
CHAPTER II
Opposition to and Regulation of Immigration 1775-1882
State regulation prior to 1792 — Washington's Policy during Revolutionary
War — His later views — Views of Adams, Franklin and Jefferson — Consti-
tutional provisions concerning foreigners — Early naturalization Jaws —
Alien and Sedition Laws — Early nineteenth century views — State legislation
— Resolutions in Congress — Pauper and criminal immigration — Consular
Reports — Other causes of hostility to immigration — Riots against Catholics
and Germans — Native Americanism — Presidential elections of 1844 and
1852 — The American Party — Opposition in the fifties — Obstacles to Fed-
eral legislation.
J//
'^/'The hostility to immigration did not cease with the
American Revolution. Many of the commonwealths con-
tinued to legislate on immigration during the Revolu-
tion and after peace was declared. Massachusetts, by a
law in 1783, prohibited the return of refugees, and so did
several other states. The first naturalization laws passed
by Congress, recognized this exercise of power and ex-
pressly provided that such persons could not become
naturalized without the special consent of those states which
had prohibited their return,^
On September 16, 1788 the Congress of the old Con-
federation unanimously adopted the following resolution:
''Resolved, That it be, and it is hereby, recommended to
the several states to pass laws for preventing the transporta-
tion of convicted malefactors from foreign countries into
the United States." ^
Pursuant to this recommendation of the Continental
Congress, the states passed laws in conformity therewith.
Virginia passed a law on November 13, 1788 forbidding
masters of vessels from landing convicts, under a penalty
*Acts of 1790 and '95, U. S. Laws, Vol. I, pp. 104, 415.
'Journal of Congress for 1788, p. 867.
22
OPPOSITION AND REGULATION, 1775-1882 23
of fifty pounds. South Carolina,^ Georgia and New York
passed similar laws the same year. Massachusetts followed
the example in 1791. Pennsylvania passed an act, March
27, 1789 providing ''that no captain of a vessel, or other
person, shall knowingly or willingly bring, import, or send,
or so cause to be, or be aiding or assisting therein, into this
Commonwealth, by land or water, any felon, convict, or
person under sentence of death, or any other disability,
incurred by a criminal prosecution or who shall be delivered,
or sent to him or her from any prison or place of confine-
ment in any place out of the United States." ^
During the Revolution the Continental Congress estab-
lished the policy of not employing any but native born
citizens in the foreign service of the country. The same
policy was pursued, as far as practicable, by Washington
during the Revolution. On July 7, 1775 he sent out the
instruction that ''no man shall be appointed as a sentry who
is not A NATIVE of this country." On July 10, 1775
he ordered the recruiting service "not to enlist any person
who is not an American born, unless such person has a wife
and family, and is a settled resident in this country." On
May 7, 1777 he sent word to Richard Henry Lee, "It is by
the zeal and activity of our own people that the cause
must be supported, and not by a few hungry adventurers."
On March 17, 1778 he ordered one hundred men to be
chosen and annexed to the guard of the commander-in-
chief. In his orders he instructed that ''They Must Be
American Born/' On July 24, 1778, he wrote to Gouverneur
Morris, "I do most devoutly wish that we had not a single
foreigner amongst us, except the Marquis de Lafayette." ^
After the adoption of the constitution, in his first annual
' Public Laws of the State of South Carolina to the Year 1790, Inclusive,
p. 464.
* Dallas, Edition of Laws of Pennsylvania, Vol. II, p. 692. Or, Pennsyl-
vania's Statutes at Large from 1682 to 1801, XIII, 261-62.
^The policy of "America for Americans" thus seems to have had its
origin at the very beginning of our Independence. The term itself was in
common use prior to 1850. See Sanderson, J. P., Republican Landmarks,
Ch. 39 (1856). in which the term is used frequently. See also page 334 of
the same book. Busey, S. C, Immigration — Its Evils and Consequences
(1856), should likewise be read in this connection.
24
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
message to Congress, Washington said, ''Various considera-
tions render it expedient that the terms on which foreigners
may be admitted to the rights of citizens, should be speedily
ascertained by a uniform rule of naturalization." But in
regard to the employment of foreign-born citizens in the
public service, he does not seem to have changed the views
entertained by him during the Revolution, for in a letter
dated January 20, 1790 to J. Q. Adams he stated, ''You
know, my good sir, that it is not the policy of this govern-
ment to employ foreigners when it can well be avoided,
either in the civil or military walks of life." Concerning
immigration itself. President Washington wrote to John
Adams, November 17, 1794, "My opinion with respect to
immigration is, that except of useful mechanics and some
particular description of men and professions there is
no use of encouragement." In a letter to Sir John St. Clair,
of England, he declared his opposition thereto in the follow-
ing very positive terms: "I have no intention to invite
immigrants, even if there are no restrictive acts against
it. I am opposed to it altogether." Then in a letter to
Patrick Henry, dated October 9, 1795, he wrote, "In a
word, I want an American character, that the powers of
Europe may be convinced we act for ourselves and not for
others. This, in my judgment, is the only way to be re-
spected abroad and happy at home."
John Adams entertained similar views. In a letter to
Christopher Gadsden he gives expression to the following
sentiments : "Foreign meddlers, as you properly denominate
them, have a strange, a mysterious influence in this coun-
try. Is there no pride in American bosoms? . . . The plan
of our worthy friend, John Rutledge, relative to the admis-
sion of strangers to the privileges of citizens, as you explain
it, was certainly prudent. Americans will find that their
own experience will coincide with the experience of all
other nations, and foreigners must be received with caution,
or they will destroy all confidence in government."
Benjamin Franklin, writing in the American Museum
for the year 1787, stated that the only encouragements
OPPOSITION AND REGULATION, 1775-1882 25
I which this government holds out to strangers are such as
i are derived from good laws and liberty. In a paper read
at his home on April 20, 1787, the author pointed out that
we have a right to restrict immigration whenever it appears
'6 likely to prove hurtful and he warned the states against
's permitting the importation of criminals from European
countries. With a somewhat unwarranted optimism he
^ added, ''It is now not likely that these states will be in-
sulted with transportations of this sort, directly ordered
from any other sovereign power."
5 m Although the author of the Declaration of Independence
1 and of the liberal naturalization law of Virginia, enacted in
May, 1779, in which he asserted the natural right of ex-
patriation, Thomas Jefferson was opposed to immigration
and asserted the right of the states to prohibit and regulate
it. That immigration was full of menace and that it was
considered a serious problem by the ''Sage of Monticello"
is evident from the following statements. In his Notes
on Virginia, first printed in 1782, Jefferson wrote thus:
I "But are there no inconveniences to be thrown into the
i scale against any advantage expected from a multiplica-
I tion of numbers by the importation of foreigners? It is
for the happiness of those united in society to harmonize
I as much as possible in matters which of necessity they must
transact together. Civil government being the sole object
of forming societies, its administration must be conducted
by common consent. Every species of government has its
specific principles. Ours, perhaps, are more peculiar than
those of any other. It is a composition of the freest princi-
ples of the English Constitution with others derived from
' natural right and natural reason. To these nothing can
be more opposed than the maxims of absolute monarchies.
Yet, from such we are to expect the greatest number of
immigrants. They will bring with them the principles of
the governments they leave, or if able to throw them
off, it will be in exchange for an unbounded licentiousness,
passing, as usual, from one extreme to the other. It would
be a miracle were they to stop precisely at the point of
26
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
temperate liberty. These principles, with their language,
they will transmit to their children. In proportion to their
numbers, they will share legislation with us. They will
infuse into it their spirit, warp or bias its direction, and
render it a heterogeneous, incoherent, distracted mass." ^
He was also the author of a petition to the Virginia
Legislature, presented in 1797, and signed by citizens of
x\lbemarle, Amherst, Fluvanna, and Goochland counties,
praying that none but native born citizens should be eligible
as jurors in grand or petty civil or criminal cases.
On another occasion he wrote, ''I hope we may find some
means in the future of shielding ourselves from foreign
influence — political, commercial, or in whatever form at-
tempted. I can scarcely withold myself from joining in
the wish of Silas Dean, that there were an ocean of fire
between this and the old world!"
While minister to France, in 1788, he wrote a letter to
Mr. Jay, in which he stated, "Native citizens, on several
valuable accounts, are preferable to aliens, or citizens alien
horn. ... To avail ourselves of native citizens, it appears
to me advisable to declare by standing law that no person,
but a native citizen, shall be capable of the office of consul."
Then years later he asks 'Vhether it is desirable for us to
receive the dissolute and demoralized handicraftsmen of
the old cities of Europe." ^ Being a serious advocate of
restriction, Jefferson merely asserted a natural right of emi-
gration,— viz, expatriation. However, being the leading
advocate of state rights Jefferson was uncompromisingly
hostile to legislation by the Federal government on the
subject. The important thing to note, however, is that he
was hostile to immigration and favored restriction.^
It would seem that the views of these leaders can be
taken as representative of the prevailing attitude toward
immigration among the body of the American people at
' Notes on Virginia, 152.
Jefferson's Writings, Vol. IX, p. 453.
"Letter to Lithpow, January 4, 1805, in Works, Vol. II, p. 270.
" Contrast with this the erroneous views set forth by Mary Antin in her
little book, "They Who Knock at Our Gates."
OPPOSITION AND REGULATION, 1775-1882 27
that time. The debates in the Constitutional Convention
of 1787 disclose some fear of the political influence of the
foreign settler. These fears of and this hostility to for-
eigners found expression in various clauses of the constitu-
tion,* Article I, Section 2 of the constitution specifies that
"No person shall be a Representative who shall not have
been seven years a Citizen of the United States." Article
I, Section 3 states that ''No person shall be a Senator who
shall not have been nine years a citizen of the United
States." A naturalized person may thus become a Repre-
sentative or a Senator only after a citizenship of seven and
nine years respectively. Still more clearly is the distrust
of the foreigner expressed in the clause in Article II which
debars foreign-born citizens from the offices of President
and Vice-President. It reads, ''No Person except a natural
born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at tlie time
of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the
Office of President." Another reference in the constitution
to the subject, which we shall discuss later, is Article I,
Section 9, which reads, "The Migration or Importation of
such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think
proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress
prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight,
but a Tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation,
not exceeding ten dollars for each Person."
An examination of the history of Congressional legisla-
tion on the subject of the naturalization laws must satisfy
everyone that the statesmen of the Revolution did not
entertain any idea that aliens had an absolute right to par-
ticipate in the highest prerogatives of the government, but
acted on the subject as a matter of expediency, and treated
it as a privilege conferred. The period of residence re-
quired for naturalization was set at two years by the Act of
1790, but this was raised to five years in 1795. The Act
of 1798 required a residence of fourteen years, with a dec-
laration of intention at least five years before admission, to
* See Kapp, F., "Immigration," Ch. IX, Immigration as Ajfccted by
the Constitution of the United States (1870).
28
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
be admitted to citizenship. Aliens arriving in the United ! i
States after the passage of the act had to be registered.^^ | i
Those who were enemies could never become citizens; even
those who were proved to be friends were compelled, before
taking the oath of citizenship, to produce certificates of I
registration in proof of residence in the country for fourteen :
years. However, this was too drastic to be expedient, so at
the suggestion of President Jefferson, the residence was ;
reduced by the naturalization law of 1802 to five years, j
With this one exception, there was from the passage of the
first act in 1790 down to 1824, a uniform and constant ;
advance in the demands of the laws passed by Congress on I
the subject upon those on whom they authorized the privi- :
lege of citizenship to be conferred. From these laws and •
from the discussion connected with them it would seem ,
that there existed at that time a sentiment against the i
alien within our country. \
During the consideration of the bill to establish a uni-
form rule of naturalization in 1790 there was a long and .
animated discussion in the House of Representatives, in I
which the views of most of the leading members were
elicited. The discussion arose on a motion made by i
Thomas T. Tucker, of South Carolina, to permit aliens to j
hold lands without having resided any definite period in j
the country, though he accompanied his motion with the \
declaration that ''he had no objection to extending the j'
term ... to three years.'' {
Roger Sherman, of Connecticut, one of the framers of 1
the Federal Constitution, said: i
''He presumed it was intended by the Convention, who j
framed the Constitution, that Congress should have the
power of naturalization, in order to prevent particular states
receiving citizens, and forcing them upon others who would »
not have received them in any other manner."
James Madison, of Virginia, also one of the framers of
the Constitution, and who was foremost among those in
" Annals of Congress of 1797-1799, Vol. II, p. 1566.
• "Annals of Congress, Vol. I, pp. 1146 to 1165. !
OPPOSITION AND REGULATION, 1775-1882 29
favor of liberal legislation for citizens of foreign birth,
frankly said, 'Vhen we are considering the advantages that
may result from an easy mode of naturalization, we ought
also to consider the cautions necessary to guard against
abuses." He concluded his remarks as follows:
"I should be exceedingly sorry, sir, that our rule of
naturalization excluded a single person of good fame that
really meant to incorporate himself into our society; on the
other hand, I do not wish that any man should acquire
the privilege, but such as would be a real addition to the
wealth or strength of the United States."
James Jackson, of Georgia, was not only in favor of a
long residence, but anxious to guard against the admission
of improper persons. He said:
^'He hoped to see the title of a citizen of America as
highly venerated and respected as a citizen of old Rome.
I am clearly of opinion, that rather than have the common
class of vagrants, paupers, and other outcasts of Europe,
that we had better be as we are, and trust to the natural
increase of our population for inhabitants."
Theodore Sedgwick, of Massachusetts, said:
^'He thought Congress might use their discretion, and
admit none but reputable citizens, such only were fit for
the society into which they were blended."
Pending the consideration of the resolution that later
resulted in the Naturalization Act of 1798, an animated
debate resulted.^- Mr. Harper, of Maryland, moved as
follows: ^That provision ought to be made by law for pre-
venting any person becoming entitled to the rights of a
citizen of the United States, except by birth."
H. G. Otis, of Massachusetts, said:
''He himself had not the smallest doubt as to the con-
stitutionality of restricting aliens in the way proposed. He
believed that Congress, could, if they thought proper, make
a residence of forty or fifty years necessary before an alien
should be entitled to citizenship, which would extend to the
whole life of a person, and prove an effectual exclusion."
"Annals of Congress of 1797-99, Vol. II, p. 1568 to 1580.
30
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
Samuel Sitgreaves, of Pennsylvania, said:
''They might avoid any constitutional embarassment by
extending the time of residence of aliens so far as to pre-
vent them from ever becoming citizens, by which means
persons who could not be considered as having a common
interest with the citizens of the country, would be effectu-
ally excluded from holding offices in the government."
^James A. Bayard, of Delaware, said:
"Aliens cannot be considered as members of the society
of the United States; our laws are passed on the ground
of our policy, and whatever is granted to aliens is a mere
matter of favor; and, if it is taken away, they have no right
to complain."
Following the passage of the Naturalization Act of 1802
various efforts were made to amend the law so as ''to
secure more effectually to the native citizens the right of
government." Such a memorial was presented to the second
session of the twenty-fifth Congress by John M. Patton, of
Virginia, from the Native American Association of Wash-
ington City, signed by nearly a thousand persons.^^
A bill introduced into the first session of the twenty-sixth
Congress by A. C. Hand, of New York,^^ and another in-
troduced August 1, 1842 by J. P. Walker of Wisconsin,^®
came to naught.
Though he himself was opposed to it, on June 1, 1844
James Buchanan, of Pennsylvania, presented in the Senate
a memorial from the citizens of Philadelphia, which would
have amended the naturalization laws to require all foreign-
ers to reside twenty-one years in the country before admit-
ting them to the same privileges as native citizens.
On June 7, 1844 Senator W. S. Archer, of Virginia, in
presenting a similar petition, said:
"There was, he thought, a growing combination of cir-
cumstances, which furnished ample ground for the con-
" Great use has been made of such a defense for restriction of immigra-
tion in recent years.
"Congressional Globe 1837-8, p. 187.
"Congressional Globe 1840-41; pp. 23, 36, 41.
"Congressional Globe 1841-42; p. 817.
OPPOSITION AND REGULATION, 1775-1882 31
' elusion, that the great mass of uneducated foreigners, wholly
ignorant of the nature and value of our institutions, an-
nually pouring into the country, could not, within the short
: period of five years, fixed by^the present law, become fit to
exercise, with a due sense of their value and responsibility,
the rights and privileges of native born citizens. The pre-
mature exercise of such rights had grown to an evil of great
magnitude, of which there had, unhappily, but too recently,
I been a painful demonstration."
I At the second session of the twenty-eighth Congress
1 various ineffectual efforts were made in the House of Rep-
resentatives to secure amendments to the naturalization
laws.^^
' During the early part of the same session, Henry John-
son of Louisiana, speaking in the Senate in favor of a reso-
lution he had introduced to modify the naturalization laws
so as to extend the time for foreigners to become citizens,
to prevent frauds, etc., said:
''It is, indeed, a lamentable fact, that most of the for-
i eigners who immigrate to this country are profoundly
ignorant of the nature of the government and of its politi-
cal institutions, and are mere instruments in the hands of
designing men, to be used at the elections for the most
corrupt purposes — All parties are equally interested in
guarding against a repetition of the abuses complained of,
which, if not prevented in the future, may ultimately de-
stroy our government."
In November, 1844 Daniel Webster addressed a meeting
of the Whigs of Boston in which he took ground in favor
of an alteration of the naturalization laws.^^ He said:
'The result of the recent elections, in several States, has
impressed my mind with one deep and strong conviction;
that is, that there is an imperative necessity for reform-
ing the naturalization laws of the United States. The
preservation of the government, and consequently the in-
" Congressional Globe 1843-44, p. 658.
"Congressional Globe 1844-45, pp. 64, 150.
i " Niles Register, Vol. LXVII, p. 172.
32
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
terest of all parties, in my opinion, clearly and strongly
demand this. . . . Fellow citizens, I profess to be a lover
of human liberty. But I profess my heart, my reputation,
my pride of character, to be an American."
The evidence presented by these memorials, bills,
speeches, etc. — nor have all of them been mentioned here, —
from all sections of the country and made by the leading
men of the day, seems to indicate that a considerable ele-
ment of the population was gravely concerned over the
problems that had resulted from immigration into the
country prior to 1850.
The Alien and Sedition laws passed in 1798 during
the administration of John Adams, bear further testi-
mony to the hostility felt toward the alien. Under the
Alien Law, the President of the United States was in-
vested with power to send away all such aliens as he judged
dangerous to the peace and safety of the country, or had
reasons to think were hatching treason or laying plots
against the Government. Imprisonment for three years
and deprivation of the privilege to become a citizen were
the punishments provided for anyone so ordered to depart
who was found at large without a license to remain. Those
thus punished were also subject to removal from the coun-
try on the order of the President, and if they voluntarily
returned they could be reimprisoned for such time as the
President thought the public good required. In order that
no alien might escape, sea captains were to make reports
in writing of the names, ages, and places of birth of all
foreigners brought over in their ships. This act was a
result of transitory unsettled conditions, particularly the
expectation of a war with France, and contained a pro-
viso that it should expire two years after passage. But it
contains an important permanent principle which has been
made much of in recent years, viz. the right of deporta-
tion.-^
Even more stringent than these laws was another en-
* Every standard American History deals at length with the Alien and
Sedition Laws.
OPPOSITION AND REGULATION, 1775-1882 33
! acted in the same year which gave to the President the
right, in case of war declared or invasion threatened, to
seize, secure, or send away all resident aliens, whether
natives or adopted citizens, of the hostile nation.
^'When we recall the conditions existing at the time of the
passage of the Alien and Sedition Acts — a young Republic
with a new form of government surrounded by avowed and
hostile enemies — perhaps there was some justification for
I this severe attitude toward foreigners in the country, which
jthe Federal Government adopted at the outset." How-
ever, the important thing to note in this connection is that
present day hostility to immigration is not a new thing. The
views and statutes to which we have referred have given
tone and color to much of the opposition that has mani-
fested itself from then to the present day. Historical facts
thus seem to refute the contentions of the past and present
advocates of unrestricted immigration that we have always
welcomed the immigrant with outstretched arms.
That most of this early feeling of opposition to the influx
of foreign elements was due to an anticipation of political
dangers is evident from the following statements. When a
proposal was made in 1804 in Connecticut to extend the
franchise, it brought from the Federalists the charge that
''Never yet has an extension of the franchise failed to bring
with it those triple horrors : Catholic, Irishmen, and Demo-
cratic rule." ''Give to every man a vote and the ports of
Connecticut would be crowded with ships swarming with
patriots and rapparees fresh from the bogs of Erin, elec-
tions would be decided by the refuse of jails and gibbets,
and factious men from Ireland would inflict on Connecticut
just such a government as they had already inflicted on
Delaware, on Pennsylvania, on New York."
The Hartford Convention in 1814 desired to make every
person thereafter naturalized ineligible to hold any civil
office under the federal government. The Convention held
that the population of the United States was then "amply
"Warne, The Tide of Immigration, p. 236.
"^McMaster, History of the People of the United States, Vol. Ill, p. 192.
34
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
sufficient to render this nation in due time sufficiently great
and powerful."
In 1807 immigrants were characterized as "the vagabonds
and wandering felons of the universe" and ''hordes of vulgar
Irish scarcely advanced to the threshold of civilization, all
the outcast villains, all the excrescences of gouty Europe"
who descend upon our shores and through naturalization
are outw^ardly transformed ''from aliens to natives — from
slaves to citizens."
On July 4, 1815, James Buchanan delivered an oration '
in the city of Lancaster upon the subject of foreign influ-
ence and upon the policy that the United States ought to.
pursue toward foreign nations, in which he said, "Above all, -
we ought to drive from our shores foreign influence, and
cherish exclusively American feelings. Foreign influence
has been in every age, the curse of republics."
William H. Crawford, while Secretary of War under the
administration of James Madison, made a report on Indian
Affairs in March, 1816, in which he stated, "It will redound
more to the national honor to incorporate, by a humane |
and benevolent policy, the natives of our forests in the !
great American family of freedom, than to receive, with i
open arms, the fugitives of the old world, whether their |
flight has been the effect of their crimes or their virtues." !
The expression of these sentiments caused him to be made ;
the object of bitter assault from the foreigners and it was j
believed at the time, mainly defeated his nomination for the
Presidency in favor of Monroe. Thus did foreign influence
make itself felt early in our political history as a Republic. '
In a letter addressed to Dr. Coleman, dated August 26,
1824, General Jackson wrote, "In short, sir, we have been !
too long subject to the policy of British merchants. It is li
time we should become a little more Americanized, and in-
stead of feeding paupers and laborers of England, feed our
own; or else, in a short time, by continuing our present
policy, we shall be paupers ourselves."
With the growth of manufactures, there arose a demand '
Warne, op. cit., p. 237.
OPPOSITION AND REGULATION, 1775-1882 35
for laborers, particularly skilled laborers, who knew the
technique of industry. Since it was extremely difficult to
persuade any great number of Americans to forego the
possibility of becoming independent landowners and culti-
vators in order to become hired workers in somebody else's
factory, there arose a demand for foreign artisans. Despite ,
this demand from the manufacturers, various states passed
laws after 1820 to restrict at least certain types of immi-
grants.^^ '
New York passed on February 11, 1824,-^ "an act con-
cerning passengers in vessels coming to the port of New
York." It provided ''that every master or commander of
any ship or other vessel arriving at the port of New York '
from any country out of the United States, or from any
other of the United States than this state, shall within
twenty-four hours after the arrival of such ship or vessel
in the said port, make a report in writing, on oath or
affirmation, to the Mayor of the City of New York, or to
the recorder of the said city, of the name, place of birth,
and last legal settlement, age and occupation of every per-
son who shall have been brought as a passenger in such
ship or vessel on her last voyage from any country out of
the United States into the port of New York, and from
any of the United States, other than this state. ... It
shall be lawful for the said mayor or recorder to require
every such master or commander of any such ship or vessel
to be bound with two sufficient sureties, not exceeding
three hundred dollars for each passenger not being a citizen
of the United States. . . . Every person not being a citizen
of the United States, who shall enter the said city with
the intention of residing therein, shall within twenty-four
hours thereafter make a report of himself in writing, on
oath or affirmation, to the mayor, or to the recorder of the
"If the absence of governmental efforts to regulate and control immigra-
tion may be called a policy of "free" immigration, then it would seem, ac-
cording to Fairchild, that this policy ended at this time when the states
began to legislate on the subject under their police powers. See Fairchild,
Immigration, pp. 31-32; also quoted, ante, Chapter I.
- New York Laws, 1824, Ch. 37.
36
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
said city, stating his name, age, and occupation, the name
of the ship or vessel in which he arrived, the time and
place when and where he landed, and the name of the com-
mander of such ship or vessel, under the penalty of one :
hundred dollars."
In like manner Massachusetts had passed ^'an act to i
prevent the introduction of paupers from foreign ports or ;
places" on February 25, 1820.-^ Under this law she also
required from the master of the vessel a list of the names
and places of residence of all passengers. He was likewise
compelled to give bond with sufficient sureties of any pas-
sengers liable to become chargeable for their support to ;
the commonwealth, the bond not to exceed five hundred,.;
dollars for each passenger.
Maryland passed ^'an act relating to the importation of
passengers, March 22, 1833." This law contained similar
provisions. There was a requirement that the master of
the vessel give to the mayor or register of Baltimore, within
twenty-four hours, a list containing the name, age, and
occupation of every alien brought in. The master of the
vessel had the option of paying in a dollar and a half for
each alien or of giving two sufficient sureties, to be ap-
proved by the mayor or register, for a sum not exceeding \
one hundred and fifty dollars for each passenger.
In these various ways various states undertook to check
immigration and to eliminate the undesirable classes.^ ^ That
such undesirable classes were getting in, despite these laws,
is evident from the records of those days, and the evils
resulting therefrom soon stirred the native population to
new efforts.
The exportation of convicts and paupers into the United
States by some of the European governments had as early
as 1836 created evils that were so seriously felt in many of
Massachusetts Laws, 1820, Chap. 290.
Maryland State Laws, 1833, Chap. 303.
^See Abbott, "Historical Aspects of the Immigration Problem" (1926)
for many select documents relatini? io the subject matter of this chapter.
See also Bromwcll, W. J., History of Immigration to the United States^
pp. 198 ff. (1856),
OPPOSITION AND REGULATION, 1775-1882 37
our large cities that the municipal authorities of Boston,
iNew York, Baltimore and New Orleans were forced to take
I steps to guard against it.
In Massachusetts the subject was brought up in the leg-
islature in 1836, which, after some consideration, adopted
the following: ^^Resolved, That it is expedient to instruct
our Senators, and request our Representatives in Congress
to use their endeavors to obtain the passage of a law to
prevent the introduction of foreign paupers into this coun-
try, and to favor any other measures which Congress may
i be disposed tdk adopt to effect this object."
This resolution was presented in the United States Senate
May 2, 1836, by John Davis, who availed himself of the
occasion to submit some startling facts on the subject.^^
The following are extracts from it:
^Tn 1833 the King appointed a commission, with large
powers, to collect evidence and report to Parliament (on
pauperism). . . . The commissioners discovered that some
of the parishes had, of their own accord, and without any
authority in law, adopted the plan of ridding themselves
of the evil by persuading the paupers to immigrate to
this side of the Atlantic. And whom, Mr. President, did
they send? The most idle and vicious; furnishing them
with money, besides paying their passage, and then leaving
them on this continent, either to reform or to rely on the
I people here for support. The commissioners strongly rec-
ommended to Parliament to adopt it, and to authorize the
parishes to raise money by taxes for this purpose. They
proposed, too, that the most idle, debauched, and corrupt —
the incurable portion — should be selected for this purpose,
while the better portion should be left, to be reclaimed
when detached from the force of evil counsel and evil
example. . . . Pauper immigrants have been repeatedly
1 found in the House of Industry in Boston, with the very
money received from the parish concealed about them,
and in some instances, to prevent detection, sewed in their
clothes. Out of 866 persons received into that place during
Congressional Debates of 1835-6, Vol. XII, part 2, p. 1378.
38 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
the last year, 516 were foreigners. . . . Massachusetts has
attempted to modify the evil by countervailing legislation,
by requiring bonds from the masters of vessels bringing
foreign passengers, conditioned that for a period they shall
not become chargeable to the public. This, however, proves
inadequate. . . .
''Now, sir, is it just? Is it morally right for Great Britain
to attempt to throw upon us this oppressive burden of sus-
taining her poor? Shall she be permitted to legislate them
out of the kingdom, and to impose on us a tax for their
support, without an effort on our part to countervail such
a policy? Would it not be wronging our own virtuous poor
to divide their bread with those who have no just or natural
claims upon us? And above all, sir, shall we fold our arms
and see this moral pestilence sent among us to poison the
public mind and do irremediable mischief?"
During the summer of 1837 the city councils of Boston
directed the then Mayor to confer with other municipal
authorities on the subject with a view of effecting their
cooperation in memorializing Congress for some remedial
legislation to arrest the growing evil.^^ In Baltimore the
same evil was experienced to an alarming extent at the
same time. A ship load of 260 Hessian convicts were
brought into port with manacles and fetters remaining on
their hands and feet until within the day of their arrival.
Mayor Smith was informed by the authorities at Washing-
ton that there was no remedy, and so he had to permit the
convicts to be landed, and turned loose to prey upon
society.^ ^
In a Baltimore paper for July 3, 1830, we find an edi-
torial,^^ from which the following are extracts:
''Infamous conduct! — The ship 'Anacreon' arrived at
Norfolk last week from Liverpool, with 168 passengers,
three-fourths of whom were transported English paupers!
And a great part of these are from 50 to 60 years of age —
some older! ... If there was barbarity enough in the
'"Niles' Register, Vol. LV, p. 46. Ibid., Vol. LV, p. 44.
''Ibid., Vol. XXXVIII, p. 335.
OPPOSITION AND REGULATION, 1775-1882 39
United States to ship off our old worn-out negroes to Eng-
land, by cargoes, would their landing be permitted? We
would not be cruel — but must resist, to the utmost possible
point, such infamous speculations on our pockets. John
Bull has squeezed the orange, but insolently casts the skins
in our faces. . . . The landing of such must be prevented;
and we trust that the general assembly of Maryland will
adopt some strong regulations on the subject, and prevent
the taxation of the good people of this state for the support
of the British government."
An investigation by the municipal government of New
York City in 1837 disclosed the fact that 60,541 passengers
arrived in New York that year and that the almshouse
was full, containing 3,074 persons, of whom three-fourths
were foreigners. The report to the Mayor stated, 'Tn fact
our public charities are principally for the benefit of these
foreigners; for of 1,209 persons admitted into the hospital
at Bellevue, 982 were aliens."
A memorial of the corporation of the city of New 1 ork,
January 25, 1847, stated that within the last year the ships
^'Sardinia" and ''Atlas" from Liverpool arrived in New York,
one with 294 and the other with 314 steerage passengers,
all paupers, sent by the parish of Groszimmern, Hesse
Darmstadt, to which they belonged and by which their ex-
penses were paid. Two hundred and thirty-four of these
immigrants eventually found their way into the New York
almshouse.^^
On January 19, 1839, Niles' Register reported a crowd of
paupers which had arrived in New York from England,
whose passage had been paid by the overseers of the poor
at Edinburgh. The majority of them were still wearing
the uniform of the poorhouse. This resulted in such serious
objections that the consignees of the vessel finally agreed
to take them back to Europe and to reimburse the city for
the expenses incurred on their account.
Other numbers of the Register contain similar instances.
In fact the situation was getting serious for many cities.
''Executive (House) Doc, 29th Cong., 2nd Ses., 54.
40
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
The evils attendant upon immigration unregulated by the
Federal Government made themselves felt to such an extent
that on July 4, 1836, the United States Senate passed a
resolution directing the Secretary of the Treasury to col-
lect such facts as could be obtained respecting the deporta-
tion of paupers from Great Britain and other places, ''ascer-
taining, as nearly as possible, to what countries such per-
sons are sent, where landed and what provision, if any, is
made for their future support/'
On April 30, 1838, the House of Representatives adopted
this resolution: ''Resolved, That the President of the
United States be requested to communicate to this House
copies of all correspondence and communications which
have passed between this and any foreign governments,
and the officers and agents thereof, relating to the intro-
duction of foreign paupers into the United States; also,
what steps, if any, have been taken, to prevent the intro-
duction of such paupers into the United States; provided
such communication is not incompatible with the interests
of the United States."
In reply to this request, President Van Buren forwarded
a number of documents to Congress, from which the fol-
lowing extracts are taken.^*
From the consulate of the United States, Kingston, Ja-
maica, June 28, 1831: "I was called upon yesterday by
most of the masters of American vessels now in this port,
who complained of a law which obliges all foreign vessels
under one hundred tons to take a pauper, or such other
person that it may be desirable to get rid of, on board, and
carry him or them off the island ; and those above that size,
one for every hundred tons burden at the rate of $10 each.
... I am informed that there are now about one hundred
in the hospital at Kingston alone, and as there are scarcely
any other foreigners trading to the colony but Americans,
the greater part of those people will find their way to the
United States in the manner already described."
From the consulate of the United States, District of
"Niles' Register, Vol. LV.
OPPOSITION AND REGULATION, 1775-1882 41
Kingston-upon-Hull-Teeds, August 30, 1836: "The officers
of the customs are well aware that paupers do proceed
both to the United States and Canada; and it has been
admitted by the owners of several vessels sailing there, that
their passengers are paid by the overseers of the parishes
to which they belong. The mode of doing this varies ac-
cording to the trustworthiness of the pauper."
Of special interest is the report from the consulate of the
United States, Leipsic, March 8, 1837, signed by F. List.^^
"Not only paupers, but even criminals, are transported
from the interior of the country to the sea-ports in order
to be embarked there for the United States. A Mr. De
Stein has lately made propositions to the smaller states of
Saxony for transporting their criminals to the port of
Bremen, and embarking them there for the United States
at $75 per head, which offer has been accepted by several
of them. ... It has of late, also, become a general practice
in the towns and boroughs of Germany, to get rid of their
paupers and vicious members, by collecting means for
effectuating their passage to the United States among the
inhabitants, and by supporting them from the public funds.
This practice is highly injurious to the United States, as
it burdens them with a host of paupers and criminals, and
also deters the better and wealthier class of the inhabitants
of this country from immigrating to the United States.
"To remedy the evil, I would propose the following meas-
ures. 1. That all persons intending to immigrate to the
United States, would have to produce to the Consul of the
United States, in the sea-port, a testimonial from the mag-
istrate of their residence, purporting that they have not
been punished for a crime (political punishments excepted)
for the last three years; that they are able to maintain
themselves by their labor or capital. 2. That the Consul
of the United States, in the sea-port, should have to certify
these testimonials; and that the masters of ships, who
/'See House Report No. 1040, pp. 54-55; U. S. 25th Congress, 2nd Ses-
sion. ''Report from Select Committee on Foreign Paupers and Naturali-
zation Laws, July 2, 1838."
42
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
would take a passenger without such a testimonial, should
have to pay a considerable fine on landing him in the 1
United States. 3. That the Consul of the United States I
in the sea-port, should have power to refuse his certificate
to all those immigrants who, in his opinion, would become
a burden to the community on their arrival in the United ,
States." These recommendations concerning over sea in-j
spection have been of unusual importance in recent years,
especially since the principles involved were incorporated
in the Act of 1924 for the first time.
From the United States Consulate at Liverpool, Sep-
tember 15, 1836: ''I find it has been the practice with many
parishes, for some years past, to send abroad such of their
superabundant population as would consent to go, and
although there has never been a restriction as to the place,
they have invariably preferred the United States, and
ninety out of a hundred. New York."
From the United States Consulate at Dublin, September
1, 1836: ''Our poor, in this country, are very poor indeed —
so poor as to be altogether without the means of support,
even for a few days. ... It is by no means an uncommon
occurrence for individuals possessed of large landed prop-
erties in this country to agree with the tenants to pay the
expense of their passage to America."
-Other consulate reports might be quoted and instances
of this sort might be multiplied, but these will suffice to
prove that the practice of transporting paupers and even
criminals was a common one during this period. It did
much to create that feeling of hostility to immigrants
which manifested itself so strongly during and after the
thirties.
No further action by Congress was had on the subject
during the remainder of the session. In fact, no further
movement on the subject was made in Congress until the
session of 1844-5, and then no definite action was had.
During the session of 1844-5, Hamilton Fish of New York,
again introduced the subject into the House of Represen-
" Congressional Globe of 1837-8, p. 489.
OPPOSITION AND REGULATION, 1775-1882 43
tatives, and a resolution was, on motion, adopted, directing
blthe committee on the Judiciary to "report to the House
whether any, and if any, what further legislation is neces-
sary to prevent the introduction of foreign paupers or
criminals." However, no report seems to have been made
or further action had.^'^ In the Senate, at the same session,
Mr. Johnson of Louisiana offered a similar resolution, but
it does not appear to have ever been considered or passed.^^
Consular reports on the importation of foreign paupers
and criminals in 1845-46, in addition to a thorough investi-
gation by the committee on the Judiciary in the Senate
are additional proof that the practices had not then ceased
of shipping paupers and criminals from European countries
to the United States. Some of the testimony before the
Senate committee is indeed startling.
Testifying before this Senate Committee on the Judiciary
March 3, 1845, Dr. S. B. Martin, health officer of Baltimore
for fifteen years, stated how he had plead with the local
authorities year after year to check in some way the great
influx of paupers and convicts, in addition to "the halt,
the lame and the blind."
Abraham Cuyk testified that he had been an agent for
forwarding immigrants to the United States for four years.
He stated that in November, 1843, the Bremen barque
"Republic" arrived here with 28 convicts from the Kingdom
of Wurtemberg. Moses Catzenstein, a passenger on the
same boat, testified as follows: "Among the passengers
were 28 criminals, sent out of the country by their re-
spective governments, and accompanied by a police officer
until the ship was fairly at sea, when each of the 28 persons
were handed a certain sum of money by the police officer,
and then he left the ship with the pilot, and the ship pro-
ceeded on her voyage. Nearly all the persons alluded to
are now in Baltimore."
Many other witnesses testified before the Senate Com-
" Congressional Globe 1844-45, p. 209.
^Ibid., p. 48.
"Senate Document 173, 28th Congress, Second Session.
44
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
mittee in like manner to their knowledge of foreign govern-
ments sending paupers and criminals to the United States.
Some time after these disclosures, Hon. Geo. H. Goundie,
American Consul at Basle, Switzerland, addressed a letter
to the New York city authorities March 27, 1846,^^ in
which he apprised them that the evil of sending paupers
and criminals into this country was on the increase. Writ-
ing to the Collector of the Port of New York March 3, 1855,
from the U. S. Consulate at Zurich, Switzerland, Hon. G. H.
Goundie stated: ^'I have just been informed that the
Commune of Niederwyl, Switzerland, have been forwarding
320 of their poorest people to the United States." The fol-
lowing letter from the State Department at Washington,
Sept. 3, 1855, addressed to the Mayor of New Orleans,
shows the means resorted to by those then engaged in trans-
porting persons to the United States in order to avoid de-
tection :
'^Circulars issued by the immigration agents in the in-
terior of Germany caution immigrants who are deformed,
crippled, or maimed, etc., against taking passage to New
York, and advise them to go by way of Baltimore, New
Orleans, or Quebec, where the laws prohibiting the landing
of immigrants of the above classes do not apply . . .
W. Hunter, Assistant Secretary."
Just when the practice finally stopped it is difficult to
say. Even as late as 1884-1885 thousands of immigrants
were sent from Ireland to the United States and Canada
partly at state expense and partly at the expense of the
''Tuke Fund," some of whom were admittedly paupers.
While the dangers from pauperism and criminality were
probably the leading causes of the intense hostility to immi-
gration after 1830, yet broader and deeper objections were
beginning to be felt and to be expressed in current writings.
''In the North American Review for April, 1835, there is a
very sane, calm and convincing article by Mr. A. H.
**See Senate Document No. 161, U. S. 29th Congress, 2nd Session. Also
see House Doc. No. 54, U. S. 29th Congress, 2nd Session, for a report on
the emigration of German paupers.
OPPOSITION AND REGULATION, 1775-1882 45
Everett, in which the disadvantages of immigration are set
forth. Many of the stock arguments of today are well set
forth here, among them, of course, the dangers from pau-
perism and crime, but also the dangers of a heterogeneous
population, of poor assimilation, congestion in cities, misuse
of political power, and the growth of foreign colonies. The
author questions whether the immigrants are really filling
the demand for labor, and urges the necessity of furnishing
the immigrants with information about different sections
of the country, and advising them about their destination.
He also feels the need of much greater discrimination in
the admission of aliens."
By 1840 we begin to hear arguments against immigration
on the ground that the immigrants do more work for less
money than the native workingmen, which indicates that
the native workers were beginning to fear the economic
competition of cheaper foreign labor. It is the foreshadow-
ing of modern conditions and modern thought and marks
the approaching end to the American frontier.*^
Another serious cause of hostility to immigration was
religious in character, viz., a hatred and fear of the Roman
Catholic religion, to which the great majority of the Irish
adhered. It was at this period in our history that so many
Irish Catholics were coming to our country. Dire prophe-
cies as to the submerging of our institutions and the in-
evitable downfall of the Republic through Catholicism
abounded in the newspapers. Throughout the sections of
the country where the Irish settled, anti-Catholic riots were
not infrequent, even necessitating at times the calling out
of troops. Open hostility was displayed toward the Irish
laborers on the canals and railroads in many parts of the
country. Professor McMaster points out that at the spring
elections of 1834 in New York City complaint was made
on the part of the Whigs that gangs of Irishmen "armed
with stones and bludgeons drove them from the polls, at-
"Fairchild, op. cit., p. 73.
■"Thus, by 1840 virtually every argument heard to-day against immigra-
tion was being used.
46
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
tacked their committee in its own room, put the!
Mayor, Sheriff, and posse to flight, and terrorized the
city." It was necessary to call out the state militia in
Boston in 1837 when a mob attacked and sacked the houses
of the Irish. There were also anti-foreign riots of more or
less serious proportions in Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Boston,
New York, and other cities, most of which were directed
against the Irish, although in Cincinnati the rioting was
directed against the Germans.*^
"These riots, the often reiterated statement that the
immigrants were paupers and criminals, the antagonism of
native workers in various lines of employment, the political
attacks by foreign born upon the Government, the wide
spread political organization of the foreigners and their con-
spicuous participation in city, state, and national elections,
disputes over the use of the Bible in the public schools, the
demands of the Irish Catholics that public support be given
to their parochial schools — all these and other tendencies
had given rise as early as the thirties to a public sentiment
of antagonism towards the immigrant."
Professor McMaster puts it thus: "Bringing with them'
all the prejudices of their native land, and while still in
character and opinion what they were while a part of some
European Society, they were in many states invested with
the franchise, and the whole administration of government
was subject to change by men just arrived from a land
where they possessed no voice in the affairs of state. To
such as thought on the matter of immigration, to such as
considered the number and character of the newcomers,
what they did and where they went after reaching our
shores, the time seemed at hand for regulation or restric-
tion." 46
Due to this increasing and bitter hostility to immigration,
immigration and its effects became an issue of the very first
*" McMaster, op. cit., Vol. VI, p. 227.
"The opposition to the Irish seems to have been greater than that
toward the Germans and Scandinavians, for the Irish tended to settle in
the cities, while the latter tended to move westward into the interior,
Wame, op. cit., pp. 238-9. "^McMaster, op. cit., Vol. VI, p. 421.
OPPOSITION AND REGULATION, 1775-1882 47
importance and were the cause of one of the most remark-
lable political movements in American history, viz., the
'nativistic movement or ''Native Americanism." The begin-
ning of this movement is evident as early as 1835, in which
year there was a Nativist candidate for Congress in New
York City. In 1836 the party nominated a candidate for
mayor of New York. Nativist societies were formed in
Germantown, Pa., and in Washington, D. C, in 1837, and
two years later the party was organized in Louisiana, where
a state convention was held in 1841. The Native American
Association of the United States, which was formed in
Washington in 1837, sought among its objects to cherish na-
tive American sentiment, to exclude foreign opinions and
doctrines ''introduced by foreign paupers and European
political adventurers," to exclude foreigners from office
under the State and Federal Governments, and to procure
a repeal of the naturalization law. The association planned
the publication of a newspaper to espouse its objects. In
1835 the platform of the Native Americans in New York
stated, "elevate no person of foreign birth to any office of
honor, trust, or profit in the United States."
Numerous memorials poured into Congress, praying for
legislation, so numerous were the evils resulting from the
steadily increasing stream of immigration that was pouring
into the United States. ^"^ The petitioners saw with great
concern the influx of Roman Catholics. To such persons,
as men, and to their religion as a religion, they had no
objection. But against their political opinions, interwoven
with their religious belief, they asked legislation for they
felt that their union of church and state and their alle-
giance to the Pope required such action.
Immigration was a prominent issue in the presidential
election of 1844 in which James K. Polk defeated Henry
Clay. The bitter and unrelenting opposition to Henry Clay
on account of Mr. Frelinghuysen, the candidate for Vice-
President, who was a Protestant professor of Christianity
and a well-known and active member of the American Bible
Executive Document No. 70, 25th Congress, Second Session, Vol. II.
48
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
Society, did much to alarm the public at the foreign influ-
ence in our midst and it aroused indignation against those ij
who controlled it. '
An article in Freeman's Journal, probably written by
Archbishop Hughes contained the following impudent |
threat: ''Irishmen learn in America to bide their time. . . . *
At length the propitious time will come — some accidental,
sudden collision, and a Presidential campaign at hand. We
will use, then, the very profligacy of our politicians for our
purposes. They will want to buy the Irish vote and we
will tell them how they can buy it in a lump from Maine
to California."
The charge was made by the foreign elements in Brown- ~
son's Review of July, 1844, that Mr. Frelinghuysen ''con-
centrates in himself the whole spirit of 'Native Ameri-
canism and no Popery.' " |
The Boston Pilot of October 31, 1844, ^ well known !
Roman Catholic organ of that day, contained the following
advice to voters: "We recommend to you no party; we
condemn no candidate but one, and he is Theodore Freling-
huysen."
The private correspondence of Mr. Clay shows that, in j
the opinion of himself and his leading friends, his defeat li
was owing to the foreign vote that was arrayed against i
them. In a letter, dated Buffalo, November 11, 1844, Mr. I
Fillmore wrote to Mr. Clay, "The Abolitionists and foreign i
Catholics have defeated us in this state. . . . Our oppo- j
nents, by pointing to the Native Americans and to Mr.
Frelinghuysen, drove the foreign Catholics from us."
In a letter dated Baltimore, November 28, 1844, Mr. :
John H. Westword wrote to Mr. Clay, "It was foreign in-
fluences, aided by the Irish and Dutch vote, that caused I
our defeat. As a proof, in my native city alone, in the ;
short space of two months there were over 1,000 natural-
ized."
In a letter addressed to Mr. Clay, by Mr. Freylinghuysen,
dated New York, November 9, we find the statement that, j
"More than 3,000 have been naturalized in this city alone
OPPOSITION AND REGULATION, 1775-1882 49
since the first of October. It is an alarming fact, that this
foreign vote has decided the great questions of American
policy, and contracted a nation's gratitude."
Several years before the organization of the American
party, The United States Magazine and Democratic Review
of July, 1850, held the following language — the argument
of which is often heard at the present time, in favor of
immigration restriction :
''These European reformers are flocking hither by thou-
sands, bringing with them the pestilent products of the
worn-out soil of the Old World — which, it would seem,
whenever it falls into labor, produces nothing but monsters.
.They bring with them a host of extravagant notions of
freedom, or a plenty of crude, undigested theories which
are utterly irreconcilable with obedience to laws of our
own making and from a constitution of our own adopting.
They come with their heads full of a division of property.
. . . The Socialists, who are come and coming among us,
I are silently making an impression on the people of our great
cities, where all the sweepings of the country are gathered
into one great mass of ignorance and corruption. They
are instilling into them principles at war with Society . .
I In the Pierce-Scott Presidential campaign of 1852 Scott
I was accused of ''nativism" and this was a factor in his
defeat. Rhodes, in his ''History of the United States," states
! that "the large Irish and German immigration of the past
few years have given the foreign vote an importance never
before attached to it, and this is the first Presidential cam-
paign in which we light upon those now familiar efforts
to cajole the German and Irish citizens." The foreign vote
in elections has ever since been an element of considerable
importance. Hardly a campaign has passed without the
public being greatly agitated because of the conspicuous
; presence at the polls of unnaturalized foreigners. It is cer-
tainly true that the foreign vote has at times virtually
decided the great questions of American policy. That this
foreign element is perhaps stronger than ever and has a
i powerful voice in party platforms and presidential elections
60
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
was evident in the political conventions, in the party planks
and in the campaign speeches of 1924.
One feature of the election of 1852 was the prominence
of a new political party which called itself the American
party, but which is better known by the appellation of
Know-nothings. It continued the opposition to immigra-
tion as manifested in the Native American Movement.
Americans, and Americans only, should rule America, came
to be its fundamental doctrine. Their cry now began to
be Washington's famous order, ^Tut None but Americans
on Guard Tonight." ''The immediate and practical aim in
view was that foreigners and Catholics should be excluded
from all national, state, county, and municipal offices ; that
strenuous efforts should be made to change the naturaliza-
tion laws so that the immigrant could not become a citizen
until after a residence of twenty-one years in this country.
No one can deny that ignorant foreign suffrage had grown
to be an evil of immense proportion."
In 1854 this party carried the election in Massachusetts
and Delaware and polled a great number of votes in New
York. In 1855 it elected governors and legislatures in New
York and four New England States, and in the South it
was more or less successful in nine States. In 1856, it
appeared as a full-fledged political organization and nom-
inated Fillmore as a candidate for the Presidency. In 1856
eight of the thirty-two states had native American gov-
ernors. In the Thirty-fifth Congress, in 1857, the party
had five Senators and fourteen Representatives. In the
Thirty-sixth Congress, it had two Senators and twenty-
three Representatives, all from the South. But after the
Thirty-sixth Congress it went to pieces rapidly and had
no representation in any subsequent Congress.
However, the bitter hostility to immigration continued
and the evils grew worse. The Molly Maguire disturbance
in the anthracite region of Pennsylvania after 1850 created
bitter hostility to immigration. In January, 1855, the
problem was so serious in New York City that Mayor Wood
Rhodes, History of the Uni'ed States, Vol. II, p. 512.
OPPOSITION AND REGULATION, 1775-1882 51
addressed a letter to the President, in which he asked the
interference of the general government to protect our coun-
try against these foreign aggressions. Mayor Wood also
addressed our ministers, consuls, and other representatives
in Europe, invoking their aid and cooperation to put an
end to the evil. About the same time resolutions of in-
quiry on the subject, especially concerning paupers and
convicts, were introduced in the Senate by Senator Cooper
of Pennsylvania. So emboldened had some of the foreign
powers become in making our country the receptacle for
the dregs and off-scourings of their population, and thus
relieving themselves of the burden of pauperism and crime,
that some of them had the audacity to deny our right to
prevent them from doing so.^^
One of the governments doing so was Wurtemberg, which
in 1855 impudently denied our right to return paupers and
criminals and passed public resolutions of protest, which
have had a familiar echo in the recent protests of several
nations against the Act of 1924. These resolutions read in
part: ^'Whereas, It is desirable that those who have once
emigrated to America, and especially those who have been
transported thither at the expense of the State, or the com-
munes, and are unable, whether or not it be from any fault
of their own, to earn their subsistence, should not return
here, to be a burden to the State or the commune, which
in that case will have defrayed the expense of their journey
in vain: and
^'Whereas, The American authorities are scarcely author-
ized to send back those who, having once been admitted
to the country, cannot earn their subsistence in America,
. . . therefore,
^'Resolved, That necessary steps are to be taken to pre-
vent their transportation back to this country."
The Wurtemberg denial of our rights to protect our-
selves against their criminals and paupers, was, in itself
Report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Represen-
tatives on "Foreign Criminals and Paupers," August 16, 1856. U. S. 34th
Congress^ 1st Session, House Doc, No. 3$9.
52
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
recognized at that time by the House Committee, as strong
evidence of the necessity which existed for doing so.
That thoughtful persons were then studying the prob-
lems resulting from immigration and were urging action to !
restrict the tide is evident from what has been written, j
However, the following facts set forth in a startling manner j
how carefully they were investigating the problems result-
ing especially from the immigration of paupers and crim-
inals. The methods used in collecting and setting forth
their facts seem to be similar, if not identical, in many cases j-
with the methods used in the investigations of recent years, [
as noted below. !
"Whatever the causes which have of late years produced !
this immense immigration into this country,^^ it is cer-
tainly an undeniable fact that the 'palpable and admitted '
growing influence of the foreign born population of the
United States has, for several years past, been a source of
anxiety and dissatisfaction to a considerable number of
our native citizens.' This is so apparent that a writer on
the subject of immigration, styling himself a foreigner,
frankly admits it and says: 'The Kensington riots, the
Southwark disturbances, and the present position of civil,
political, and religious feeling, confirm the fact, and render
it an important and interesting subject, worthy of the
attention and candid consideration of us all.' "
The same author (J. P. Sanderson), writing on the pe-
cuniary advantage of immigration, set forth an argument
used frequently at the present time against immigration.
''It would be probably a much safer and more accurate
calculation, to assume that the average amount of prop-
erty brought by each immigrant during the last ten years
was $15.^^ Bishop Hughes himself claims no larger ;
amount; for but a short time since he averred in the Free-
"In a table the author (J. P. Sanderson), states that in 1850 the total of [
all of our population, exclusive of Anglo-Saxon blood was 8,263,498; the
total population of the United States in 1850 being 23,263,488.
"Sanderson, J. P., Republican Landmarks, p. 19 (1856).
" A statement in Jahrbiicher in 1851 claimed the average amount of ;
property brought by each German immigrant to have been between $64 '
and $65. The Irish were said to average $30 each.
OPPOSITION AND REGULATION, 1775-1882
53
man's Journal that to be the sum. Taking that, then, as
the amount, what is the aggregate sum that has been
brought into the country by them from the beginning of
1850 to the close of 1854? During that period 1,983,882
persons are reported by the State Department at Wash-
ington to have arrived, which at the rate of $15 per head,
would make the sum of $29,758,220. Now let us take an
account of the other side of the question and strike a bal-
ance sheet. By the general report of the British Immi-
gration Commissioners, made on the first of May last, the
amounts remitted from this country to Ireland alone during
the same period were as follows: in 1850, £957,000; in '51,
£990,000; in '52, £1,404,000; in '53, £1,439,000; and in '54,
£1,730,000 — which when converted into our currency sums
up to $28,948,800. We have thus a balance left in favor of
this country of less than $1,000,000, without taking into
account the amounts sent to Ireland through private
sources, which cannot be ascertained, and without counting
a dollar of the large amount remitted by the Germans and
immigrants from other countries for like purposes^ It is
clear, therefore, that immigrants do not, by the property
they bring with them, add to our national wealth, but that,
on the contrary, they cont/^'ibute to swell the coffers of the
countries of their birth, by remitting a larger amount of
money than they bring with them.^^
^'But we are not yet done with the reckoning. The case
has not been much more than half stated. . . . Having
contributed nothing to the aggregate wealth of the country,
what claim then have they to its charitable consideration?
And yet, whose means but the natives of this country and
those now identified with them, feeds their paupers and
educates their children? And how much of the public
expenses is incurred by the crimes committed by the vicious
portions of them, which has to be borne also by those
" It is interesting to note in this connection that several of the European
countries stated in 1924, if the United States put into force drastic immigra-
tion restrictions, that they would not bo able to meet thoir war debt obliga-
tions, since the flow of money from immigrants in the United States would
be lessened seriously.
54
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
among whom they have sought a home? These are ques- j
tions to be taken into consideration before the balance j
sheet can be properly closed, and when they are, they will i
be found to put at rest the claim now preferred in favor I
of immigration." !
The census returns of 1850 stated that the amount of the j
public means expended in the year preceding 1850, for the |
support of paupers, was $2,954,806 ; the number of paupers j
supported within the same year, in whole or in part, was j
134,972, of which over one-half were foreigners, there being ji
66,434 native born and 68,538 of foreign birth. Of the I
foreign born population in the United States at that .
time, one of at least every thirty- three was a pauper, sup-
ported at public expense, while of the native born,^^ only
one of every three hundred was thus a charge on the public.
From other sources than the census returns of 1850,
such as the Prison Discipline Journal, American Register,
American Almanac, etc., additional information can be
secured to set forth the reasons for the then existing and I
developing opposition to immigration in the United States, i
especially against the pauper classes.
In Massachusetts, there were relieved and maintained at
the public expense, from 1837 to 1840, the aggregate num- |
ber of 8,671 persons, of whom 6,104 were foreigners, being
over two-thirds of the number; for the years 1850-1853,
the whole number amounted to 107,776, of which 48,469 \
were foreigners. Of these over 40,000 were from England
and Ireland. The number received into the Baltimore
almshouse during the year 1851 was 2,150, "of v/hich num-
ber about 900 were Irish and German," and of 2,350 ad-
mitted to the same institution in 1854, there were 1,397 i
foreigners, of whom 641 were Germans and 593 Irish.
The Society for the relief of the poor in Philadelphia '
reported that for the year ending March 31, 1855, there
were received into their Home 1,266 persons, of whom
"Sanderson, J. P., Republican Landmarks, pp. 25-26. For a criticism
of this argument based on such calculations, see Kapp, F., Immigration,
Ch. VIII, on "The Capital Value of Immi-ratirn to This Country" (1870). j
"'Viz., 2,244,625, ""Viz., 19,979,563,
OPPOSITION AND REGULATION, 1775-1882 55
there were 816 foreigners; 605 of whom were Irish. The
number of paupers received into the Blockley (Philadel-
phia) Almshouse in 1848 was 3,584, of whom 2,345 were
foreigners; there being among them 1,650 Irish, 435 Ger-
mans and 227 English. On March 1, 1855, the census of
the inmates of Blockley Almshouse showed that there were
558 natives and 1,571 foreign whites therein.
Over the 12-year period 1842-1854, the aggregate num-
ber of persons received into the Pennsylvania Hospital
at Philadelphia was 17,834, of whom 10,543 were for-
eigners; of the foreigners more than two-thirds were from
Ireland.
At the Charity Hospital in New Orleans the number of
admissions in 1848 was 11,945 of whom 10,280 were for-
eigners. In 1853 the numbers were 13,750 admitted, of
whom 12,333 were foreigners.
Many similar statistics might be adduced, all showing the
same state of things in different sections of the country at
that time — all setting forth the reasons for the developing
opposition to at least certain types or classes of immi-
grants.^^
The following extract from a letter of Jeremiah Clemens,
at that time United States Senator from Alabama, is of
great interest and value, for in his investigations he seems
to have used the same methods employed by Dr. H. H.
Laughlin in his institutional survey, reported to the House
Committee, November 21, 1922.^8
^'By reference to the annual report of the Governor of
the Aims-House, I find there were in the New York Aims-
House, during the year 1853, 2,198 inmates — of these only
535 were natives, and 1,663 foreigners, supported at the ex-
pense of the city. And now I propose to use on our side
the argument of our opponents, that there are only 3,000,-
000 foreigners to 20,000,000 natives. According to that
ratio there ought to be about seven natives to one for-
" Similar facts have been set forth in recent years to prove the necessity
for restriction of immigration.
"^Dr. H. H. Laughlin's report is explained in full in the chapter, "Back
to 1890."
56
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
eigner in the Aims-House ; whereas we find more than three i
foreigners to one native. No wonder that a people who I
are taxed to support such a body of paupers should be the
first to set about devising means to get rid of them. In ;
the Bellevue Hospital, in the same city, there were 702 1 ^
Americans — 4,134 foreigners; now the proportion rises to '
nearly six to one. There were the outdoor poor — 957 |
native adults and 1,044 children — 3,131 foreign adults and j ft
5,229 foreign children. In the city prisons there were dur- !
ing the year 6,102 Americans — 22,229 foreigners. In the i p
Lunatic Asylum there were admitted from the year 1847 | o
to 1853, 779 Americans— 2,381 foreigners. . . . These fig-, i t
ures are far more conclusive than any language could be to - ! 1
prove the necessity of arresting the tide of immigration, j e
Let every American impress them deeply upon his memory : s
42,369 foreign paupers and invalids; 2,381 lunatics, and I
22,229 criminals, taxing the industry and blighting the I t
prosperity of a single city. In that list of crimes is em- ' (
braced murder, rape, arson, robbery, perjury, everything ; i
which is damning to the character of the individual, and i i
everything which is dangerous to society." J i
Advocates of immigration restriction in the fifties set ! ]
forth figures concerning crime to prove the necessity for
a check on immigration. According to De Bow's Census I
Compendium the whole number of criminals convicted in |
the year 1848, not including California, was 26,679, of which j
number 12,988 were natives and 13,691 were foreigners, be- |
ing one conviction out of every 1580 of the native and one '
out of about every 165 of the foreign population in the ;l
United States at that time. ;
Of those convicted 10,279 were in New York, of whom ^|
6,317 were foreigners. In Massachusetts those convicted
numbered 7,250 of whom there were 259 more than one-
half foreigners. In all the New England states more than
one-half of those convicted were foreigners. :
In a speech advocating immigration restriction, which ^
"It would sorm that this is virtually tho same basic plan used by Dr.
H. H. Laughlin in his report to the House Committee, November 21, 1922.
OPPOSITION AND REGULATION, 1775-1882 57
he delivered in the United States Senate January 25, 1855,
Hon. James Cooper of Pennsylvania stated that in the
conviction for capital offenses the proportion of foreign to
native born was startling, and that out of 220 convictions
which took place in about eighteen months in the seven
states of New York, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Louisiana,
New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Maryland, there were 138
of foreigners to 82 of natives.^^
Virtually all of this agitation and opposition, however,
proved to be futile in the direction of restricting the volume
of immigration for the great, almost limitless West was still
to be settled. While a few states passed more laws after
1840, yet these accomplished little for they were easily
evaded. The problem was no longer one which could be
solved by state action. Formerly this had been sufficient
but it was no longer able to stem the tide. Just as the
trust problem in the United States grew too large for state
control and demanded federal legislation; just as the rail-
road problem outgrew the capacity of the states to deal
with it successfully and forced Congress to legislate; just
so did immigration become after 1830 so big and vital a
problem that it demanded legislation from Congress. How-
ever, *'it must not be forgotten that at the time opposition
to immigration was becoming strongest there was an even
more important subject engrossing the attention of the
people and one which then loomed much more threaten-
ingly on the political horizon, a subject of internal dif-
ference that was dividing the American people much more
fundamentally, a subject that was to plunge them into
bloody fratricidal strife. In the throes of it the evils of
immigration were lost sight of." 'State rights was the
issue through all these years, so that during all this period
of agitation prior to the War Between the States, oppo-
sition to immigration was not sufficiently strong to place
any restrictive legislation on the Federal Statute books.
""For many additional facts see Buscy, S. C, Immigration, Its Evils
and Consequences (1856), and Sanderson, J. P., Republican Landmarks
(1856).
^ Wame, op. cit., p. 245.
58
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
As a result immigration was left almost entirely by the
Federal Government in the hands of the separate states
to be dealt with under their police powers as they thought
best for their own safety and welfare. In the next chapter
we shall study the problem as to who has the authority
over immigration in the United States. However, the im-
portant thing to note here is that federal legislation on
the subject was not fundamentally necessary before the
thirties and that, though necessary after then, it was impos-
sible to secure it, not because the people were not opposed
to immigration,^- but because the question of state rights
had to be settled first. Congress had asserted its power in
the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 to keep out or prohibit
the importation of aliens. Its constitutionality was denied
by several States. What was the power of the Federal Gov-
ernment and what were the powers of the State Govern-
ments on the subject? Into a study of this problem, let
us now enter.
"The War Between the States, following the industrial panic of 1857,
naturally checked the tide of immigration and, for about a decade, the
excessive fear of immigration was lessened. The liberal homestead act of
1862 was also partly responsible for this change of attitude toward the
alien elements.
CHAPTER III
Power of Congress Over Immigration *
Congressional authority under Article I, Section 9, of the Constitution —
Cases — The internal police power of the states — Cases — Congressional au-
thority over immigration under the power to regulate commerce — Cases —
Conclusions.
How far Congress had the power under the ninth section
of the first Article of the Constitution of the United States
to regulate, restrain or prohibit the immigration of for-
eigners, or whether it had any power over the subject,
was a disputed question for many years. The ninth section
of the first article provides that: "the migration or impor-
tation of such persons as any of the States, now existing,
shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by Con-
gress prior to the year 1808, but a tax may be imposed on
such importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each per-
son.This was undoubtedly understood by the framers of
the constitution to apply altogether to slaves and it was
so construed in the Federalist, the forty-second number of
which, written by Mr. Madison, contains the following in
relation to it :
"It were doubtless to be wished that the power of pro-
hibiting the importation of slaves had not been postponed
until the year 1808. ... It ought to be considered as a
point gained in favor of humanity, that a period of twenty
years may terminate forever, within these States, a traffic
which has so long and so loudly upbraided the barbarism
of modern policy. . . . Attempts have been made to per-
vert this clause into an objection against the constitution,
by representing it on one side as a criminal toleration of
an illicit practice, and on another as calculated to prevent
*For early studies on this topic see Sanderson, J. P., op. cit., Ch. XI;
i Busey, op. cit., Ch. XIII; and Kapp, op. cit., Ch. VIII-IX.
59
60
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
voluntary and beneficial immigration from Europe to
America. I mention these misconstructions not with the
view to give them an answer — for they deserve none — but
as specimens of the manner and spirit in which some have
thought fit to conduct their opposition to the proposed
government." ]
The language used in the constitution, however, seems to
be such as may well justify the question, raised by many
persons at that time, whether it could not have been ap- I
plied clearly and fairly to the importation of foreign con- ;
victs and paupers, and there were many who contended '
that it applied to all immigrants, conferring upon Congress
the power to prohibit the admission of all ''such persons,"
and necessarily including the power to admit them on such
conditions as it might have thought proper to impose,
which would, of course, have carried with it the right of
taxing them. It was certainly deemed broad enough at the
time of the adoption of the constitution, notwithstanding
the cavalier manner in which Mr. Madison dismissed the
objections urged against it, to cover immigrants generally,
while some supposed it might cover convicts.^
Luther Martin, in his celebrated letter to the Maryland
Legislature, explanatory of the course pursued by him in
the convention which framed the constitution, alludes to
this provision as follows:
'The design of this clause is to prevent the General
Government from prohibiting the importation of slaves;
but the same reasons which caused them to strike out the
word 'national,' and not admit the word 'stamps' influenced
them here to guard against the word 'slaves.' They anx-
iously sought to avoid the admission of expressions which
might be odious in the ears of Americans, although they
were willing to admit into their system those things which
the expression signified; and hence it is that the clause is
so worded as really to authorize the General Government
to impose a duty of ten dollars on every foreigner who
comes into a State to become a citizen, whether he comes
^Madison State Papers, Vol. Ill, pp. 1429-30.
POWER OF CONGRESS OVER IMMIGRATION 61
absolutely free, or qualified so as a servant; although this
is contrary to the design of the framers, and the duty was
only meant to extend to the importation of slaves." ^
James Wilson, who was himself a leading and influential
member of the Convention which framed the constitution,
and also the prominent champion of it in the Pennsylvania
Convention, which was convened to ratify or reject it, re-
ferred in a speech, in the last named body to this particular
provision, as follows:
''A little impartiality and attention will discover the care
that the Convention took in selecting their language. The
words are — 'the migration or importation of such persons,
etc., shall not be prohibited by Congress prior to the year
1808, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such importa-
tion.' It is observable here that the term migration is
dropped, when a tax or duty is mentioned, so that Congress
have power to impose the tax only on those imported." ^
In the North Carolina Convention Mr. Galloway made
the objection that he did ''not wish to see the tax on the
importation extended to all persons whatsoever," and gave
as his reasons therefor, that the situation of the South was
different from the North, saying, "we want citizens, they
do not." Mr. Iredell, afterwards one of the judges of the
Supreme Court of the United States, replied to these re-
marks, as follows:
"The worthy gentleman has I believe misunderstood this
clause. . . . The committee will observe the distinction be-
tween the two words migration and importation. The first
part of the clause will extend to persons who come into this
country as free people, or as slaves bought. But the last
part extends towards slaves only. The word migration
refers to free persons; but the word importation refers to
slaves because free people cannot be said to be imported.
The tax, therefore, is only to be laid on slaves who are im-
ported, and not on free persons who migrate." ^
From these statements it would seem that both Justices
"Elliot's Debates, Vol. I, p. 372. 'Elliot's Debates, Vol. II, p. 453.
* Elliot's Debates, Vol. IV, p, 101.
62
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
Wilson and Iredell seem to concede the power to Congress
under this provision of the constitution to prohibit, after
1808, the migration of foreigners as well as the importation
of slaves, and only contended that the right of taxation was
confined by Congress to the importation of slaves. Others
admitted that such was the intention of the framers of the
constitution, but contended that it conferred the power to
tax voluntary immigrants as well as slaves. According to
the views of these gentlemen, the General Government had
the power, under this section of the constitution, over the
subject of immigration as well as the importation of slaves.
This view seems to have been sustained by various judicial
opinions.
Chief Justice Marshall, in delivering the opinion of the
Supreme Court of the United States, in the case of Gibbons
V. Ogden,^ in which case the Court decided that the power
to regulate commerce, so far as it extends, is exclusively
vested in Congress, and that no part of it can be exercised
by a State in violation of any law of Congress, used the
following language in relation to the ninth section of the
first article of the constitution:
"The section which restrains Congress from prohibiting
the migration or importation of such persons as any of the
States may think proper to admit until 1808, has always
been considered as an exception from the power to regulate
commerce; and certainly seems to class migration with
importation. Migration applies as appropriately to volun-
tary, as importation does to involuntary, arrivals; and,
so far as an exception from a power proves its existence,
this section proves that the power to regulate commerce
applies equally to the regulation of vessels employed in
transporting men, who pass from place to place voluntarily,
and to those who pass involuntarily.'^
In the same case. Justice Johnson, who concurred in the
decision of the Court but delivered a separate opinion, gave
his views on this point as follows:
"Commerce, in its simplest signification, means an ex-
•9 Wheaton Rep. 216 (1824).
POWER OF CONGRESS OVER IMMIGRATION 63
change of goods; but in the advancement of society, labor,
transportation, intelhgence, care, and various mediums of
exchange, become commodities, and enter into commerce;
the subject, the vehicle, the agent, and their various opera-
tions, become the objects of commercial regulation. . . .
That such was the understanding of the framers of the con-
stitution, is conspicuous from provisions contained in that
instrument. The first clause of the ninth section, not only
considers the right of controlling personal ingress or migra-
tion, as implied in the powers previously vested in Congress
over commerce, but acknowledge it as a subject of revenue.
And, although the leading object of this section undoubt-
edly was the importation of slaves, yet the words are obvi-
ously calculated to comprise persons of all descriptions, and
to recognize in Congress a power to prohibit, when the
States permit, although they cannot permit when the States
prohibit."
In the cases of Smith v. Turner and Norris v. City of
Boston,^ in which the constitutionality of the passenger
laws of New York and Massachusetts came under consider-
ation and were declared void, Justice McKinley delivered
the following opinion, which seems to accord with those
of Chief Justice Marshall and Justice Johnson:
have never heard a full and satisfactory argument on
the first clause of the ninth section of the first article of
the Constitution. Yet, on full examination of the clause,
connected with other provisions of the constitution, it has
had a controlling influence on my mind in the determina-
tion of the case before us. Some of my brethren have in-
sisted that the clause here quoted applies exclusively to
the importation of slaves. If the phrase ^the migration or
importation of such persons' was intended by the conven-
tion to mean slaves only, why, in the assertion of the tax-
ing power, did they, in the same clause, separate migra-
tion from importation, and use the following language? —
'But a tax or duty may be imposed on such persons, not
exceeding ten dollars for each person.' All will admit that
•7 Howard 283 (1848).
64
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
if the word migration were excluded from the clause, it
would apply to slaves only. An unsuccessful attempt was
made in the convention to amend this clause by striking
out the word migration, and thereby to make it apply to
slaves exclusively. . . . The conclusion, to my mind, is
therefore irresistible, that there are two separate and dis-
tinct classes of persons intended to be provided for by this
clause. Although they are both subjects of commerce,
the latter class only is the subject of trade and importation.
The slaves are not immigrants. . . . Having thus shown
there are two distinct classes included in, and provided by,
the clause of the constitution referred to, the question
arises, how far the persons of the first class are protected by '
the constitution and laws of the United States from the ~
operation of the statute of New York now under considera-
tion? The power was conferred on Congress to prohibit
migration or importation of such persons into all the new
States, from and after the time of their admission into the
Union, because the exemption from the prohibition of Con-
gress was confined exclusively to the States then existing,
and left the power to operate upon all the new States ad-
mitted into the Union prior to 1808. Four new States hav-
ing been thus admitted within that time, it follows, beyond
controversy, the power of Congress over the whole subject
of migration and importation was complete throughout the
United States after 1808.
''The power to prohibit the admission of 'all such per-
sons,' includes, necessarily, the power to admit them on
such conditions as Congress may think proper to impose;
and, therefore, as a condition, Congress has the unlimited
power of taxing them. If this reasoning be correct, the
whole power over the subject belongs exclusively to Con-
gress, and connects itself indissolubly with the power to
regulate commerce with foreign nations. . . . The great
question here is. Where does the power of the United States
over this subject end, and where does the State power
begin? This is, perhaps, one of the most perplexing ques-
tions ever submitted to the consideration of this court."
POWER OF CONGRESS OVER IMMIGRATION 65
Justice Wayne concurred with Justice McKinley in his
interpretation of the ninth section of the first article of
the constitution. He stated that it ''includes within it the
migration of other persons, as well as the importation of
slaves, and in terms recognizes that other persons as well
as slaves may be the subjects of importation and com-
merce." He doubtless had in view the transportation of
convicts and paupers to the United States at the expense
of European governments. Justice Catron also concurred
in the opinion delivered by Justice McKinley and adopted
it as forming part of his own.
Chief Justice Taney could not, however, assent to the
opinion expressed by Justice McKinley, and Justices
Daniel, Nelson and Woodbury concurred with him in dis-
senting. The Chief Justice said :
'Tf the word can be applied to voluntary immigrants,
the construction put upon it by those who opposed the
constitution is certainly the just one; for it is difficult to
imagine why a power should be so explicitly and carefully
conferred on Congress to prohibit immigration, unless the
majority of the States desired to put an end to it, and to
prevent any particular State from contravening this policy.
But it is admitted on all hands, that it was then the policy
of all States to encourage immigration. ... It is only upon
the ground that they considered it an evil, and desired to
prevent it, that this word can be construed to mean free-
dom, and to class them in the same provision and in the
same words, with the importation of slaves. The limita-
tion of the prohibition also shows that it does not apply
to voluntary immigrants. Congress could not prohibit the
migration and importation of such persons during the time
specified 'in such States as might think proper to admit
them.' This provision clearly implies that there was a
well known difference of policy among the States upon the
subject to which this article relates. Now, in regard to
voluntary immigrants, all the States, without exception,
not only admitted them, but encouraged them to come; and
the words 'in such States as may think proper to admit
66 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
them/ would have been useless, and out of place, if applied
to voluntary immigrants. But in relation to slaves it was
known to be otherwise. . . . The qualification of the power
of prohibition, therefore, by the words above mentioned,
was entirely appropriate to the importation of slaves, but
inappropriate and useless in relation to freedom. . . . The
whole context of the sentence, and its provisions and limita-
tions, and the construction given to it by those who assisted
in framing the clause in question, show that it was intended
to embrace those persons only who were brought in as
property."
Justice Woodbury, in noticing this section, in delivering
his opinion in the same cases, said:
'This they consider as a grant of power to Congress to
prohibit the immigration from abroad of all persons, bond
or free, after 1808, and to tax their importation at once and
forever, not exceeding ten dollars per head. (9 Wheaton,
230; Justice Johnson: 15 Peters, 514). . . . But it deserves
special notice, that this ninth section is one entirely of
limitation of power rather than a grant of it; and th
power of prohibition being nowhere else in the constitutio
expressly granted to Congress, the section seems intro-
duced rather to prevent it from being implied, except as
to slaves, after 1808, than to confer it in all cases. (1
Brockenbrough, 434). If to be implied elsewhere, it is
from the grant to regulate commerce, and by the idea
that slaves are subjects of commerce, as they often are.
Hence it can go no further than imply it as to them, and
not as to free passengers. Or if to 'regulate commerce'
extends also to the regulation of mere navigation, an
hence to the business of carrying passengers, in which it
may be employed, it is confined to a forfeiture of the vessel,
and does not legitimately involve a prohibition of persons,
except when articles of commerce, like slaves. (1 Brocken-
brough, 432). Or finally, however, it is still a power con-
current in the States, like most taxation, and is well exer-
cised by them when Congress does not, as here, legislate
on the matter either of prohibition or of taxation of pas-
POWER OF CONGRESS OVER IMMIGRATION 67
sengers. It is hence, that if this 9th section was a grant
to prevent the migration or importation of other persons
than slaves, it is not an exclusive one, any more than that
to regulate commerce, to which it refers: nor has it even
here been exercised so as to conflict with State Laws or
with the statute of Massachusetts, now under considera-
tion. This clause itself recognizes an exclusive power of
prohibition in the States, until 1808. And a concurrent and
subordinate power on this by the States, after that, is
nowhere expressly forbidden in the constitution, nor is it
denied by any reason or necessity for such exclusiveness.
The States can often use it more wisely than Congress,
in respect to their own interests and policy. . . . The word
'migration' was probably added to 'importation,' to cover
slaves when regarded as persons rather than property, as
they are for some purposes. Or if to cover others, such as
convicts and redemptioners, it was those only who came
here against their will or in a quasi servitude."
Justice Daniel expressed himself as follows: 'This ninth
section of the first article of the constitution has been in-
voked in support of the power claimed for the Federal
Government. . . . The assertion for a general necessity for
permission to the States from the General Government,
either to expel from their confines those who are mis-^
chievous or dangerous, or to admit to hospitality and settle-
ment whomsoever they may deem it advantageous to re-
ceive, carries with it either a denial to the former, as perfect
original sovereignties, of the right of self-preservation, or
presumes a concession to the latter, the creature of the
States, wholly incompatible with its exercise. This author-
ity over alien friends belongs not, then, to the General
Government, by any express delegation of power, nor by
necessary or improper implication from express grants."
From a review of the opinions given, the weight of
authority seems to be that the section of the constitution
in question was an exception to the power of Congress to
regulate commerce, so that if it had not been introduced,
the power to prohibit the importation would have resulted
68
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
from the general grant to regulate commerced For it is
a rule of interpretation acknowledged by all, that the ex-
ception of a particular thing from general words proves
that, in the opinion of the lawgiver, the thing excepted
would be within the general clause, had the exception not
been made, and there seems to be no reason why this
general rule should not be as applicable to the constitution
as to other instruments.^ The section, according to this
construction, not only considers the right of controlling
personal ingress or migration, as implied in the powers
previously vested in Congress over commerce, but acknowl-
edges it as a subject of revenue.^ Congress having the
exclusive power to regulate commerce, and the latter, under
the interpretation of the ninth section including the im-
migration of persons as well as the importation of mer-
chandise, the conclusion was beginning to be irresistible
by 1850 that Congress had the sole power over the immi-
gration of foreigners as well as the importation of goods,
and that the States could not, therefore, tax immigrants for
the purpose of paying expenses incident to the execution
of their police laws.
Though a great difference of opinion is manifested in the
written opinions of the Judges of the Supreme Court, as to
the constitutionality of the passenger laws of New York
and Massachusetts, which imposed a tax, and which were
under consideration in the cases of Smith v. 'Turner and
Norris v. Boston, no such differences existed among them as
to the power relating to internal police being reserved to
the States, to be exercised by them even to the entire ex-
clusion of certain classes of persons. This principle was
fully established in the case of the City of New York v.
Milne, which came before the United States Supreme
Court, on a certificate of division in opinion of the Judges
of the Circuit Court of the United States for the Southern
District of New York. The facts of the case were these:
By one of the provisions of an act passed by the New York
' 15 Poters' Rop., 514. • 12 Whcaton, 450.
M2 Wheaton Rep., 440. "11 PctciV Rep., 102 (January, 1837).
POWER OF CONGRESS OVER IMMIGRATION 69
' Legislature in 1824, the master of every vessel arriving in
New York was required under certain penalties, within
twenty-four hours after his arrival, to make report of the
names, ages and last legal settlement of every person on
board his vessel, etc. New York City brought an action
of debt under this law against the master of the ship
"Emily'^ for the recovery of certain penalties imposed by
the act. The defendant demurred and alleged that the act
assumed to regulate trade and commerce, and was therefore
unconstitutional. The Supreme Court decided otherwise,
however, and pronounced the act to be constitutional. In
I delivering the opinion of the court, Justice Barbour said:
"We are of opinion that the act is not a regulation of
commerce but of police; and that being thus considered, it
was passed in the exercise of a power which rightfully be-
longed to the States. . . . The power of New York to pass
this law having undeniably existed at the formation of the
constitution, the simple inquiry is, whether by that instru-
ment it was taken from the States, and granted, to Con-
gress ; for if it were not, it yet remains with them. If,
. as we think, it be a regulation, not of commerce, but
police; then it is not taken from the States. To decide
this, let us examine its purpose, the end to be attained,
and the means of its attainment.
i "The object of the legislature was, to prevent New York
from being burdened by an influx of persons brought
thither in ships, either from foreign countries, or from any
i other of the States, and for that purpose a report was re-
quired of the names, places of birth, etc., of all passengers,
' that the necessary steps might be taken by the city authori-
ties to prevent them from becoming chargeable as paupers.
. . . Now we hold that both the end and the means here
used, are within the competency of the States, since a por-
tion of their powers were surrendered to the Federal Gov-
ernment. Let us see what powers are left with the States.
. . . This court, in the case of Gibbons v. Ogden,^^ in speak-
j ing of the inspection laws of the State, says: 'They form a
"9 Wheat., 203 (1824).
70
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
portion of that immense mass of legislation which embraces
everything within the territory of a State, not surrendered
to the General Government, all which can be most advan-
tageously exercised by the States themselves.' ... ,
''Now, if the act in question be tried by reference to the ;
delineation of power laid down in the preceding quota- j
tion, it seems to us that we are necessarily brought to the
conclusion, that it falls within its limits. . . . We choose |
rather to plant ourselves on what we consider impregnable I
positions. They are these : That a State has the same un- \
deniable and unlimited jurisdiction over all persons and
things, within its territorial limits, as any foreign nation,
where that jurisdiction is not surrendered or restrained
by the constitution of the United States; that, by virtue
of this, it is not only the right but the bounden and solemn
duty of a State, to advance the safety, happiness and pros-
perity of its people, and to provide for its general welfare,
by any and every act of legislation which it may deem to
be conducive to these ends; where the power over the
particular subject, or the manner of its exercise is not sur-
rendered or restrained, in the manner just stated; that all
those powers which may be called internal police, are not
thus surrendered or restrained; and that, consequently, in
relation to these the authority of a State is complete, un-
qualified, and exclusive. We are aware, that it is at all
times difficult to define any subject with proper precision
and accuracy; if this be so in general, it is emphatically so
in relation to a subject so diversified and multifarious as the
one which we are now considering. ...
''Now in relation to the section in the act immediately
before us, that is obviously passed with a view to prevent
her citizens from being oppressed by the support of multi-
tudes of poor persons, who come from foreign countries
without possessing the means of supporting themselves.
There can be no mode in which the power to regulate
internal police could be more appropriately exercised. New
York, from her particular situation, is, perhaps more than
any other city in the Union, exposed to the evil of thou-
POWER OF CONGRESS OVER IMMIGRATION 71
I sands of foreign immigrants arriving there, and the conse-
quent danger of her citizens being subjected to heavy charge
in the maintenance of those who are poor. It is the duty
of the State to protect its citizens from this evil; they
have endeavored to do so, by passing, amongst other things,
the section of the law in question. We should, upon
principle, say that it had a right to do so. . . .
''We think it as competent and as necessary for a State
to provide precautionary measures against the moral pesti-
lence of paupers, vagabonds, and possibly convicts, as it
is to guard against the physical pestilence which may arise
from unsound and infectious articles imported, or from a
ship, the crew of which may be laboring under an infec-
tious disease.'^
In the same case Justice Thompson said: ''Can anything
fall more directly within the police power and internal
regulation of a State, than that which concerns the care
and management of paupers or convicts or any other class
or description of persons that may be thrown into the
country, and likely to endanger its safety, or become charge-
able for their maintenance? It is not intended by this
remark to cast any reproach upon foreigners who may ar-
rive in this country. But if all power to guard against
these mischiefs is taken away, the safety and welfare of
the community may be very much endangered."
In the case of Groves et al v. Slaughter,^^ Chief Justice
Taney, in noticing the question of constitutional law that
had been brought into discussion, viz., whether the grant
of power to the General Government to regulate commerce
does not carry with it an implied prohibition to the States
to make any regulations upon the subject, even though
they should be altogether consistent with those made by
Congress, raised the query whether such State legislation
would not be valid until Congress should otherwise direct.
He said: "The question upon which different opinions have
been entertained, is this: Would a regulation of commerce,
by a State, be valid until Congress should otherwise direct,
" 15 Peters' Rep., 509.
72
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
provided such regulation was consistent with the regula-
tions of Congress, and did not in any manner conflict with
them? No case has yet arisen which made it necessary,
in the judgment of the court, to decide the question. It
was treated as an open one, in the case of The City of New
York V. Milne,^^ decided at January term, 1837, as will
appear by the opinions then delivered; and since that
time the point has never, in any form, come before the
court."
Justice Baldwin, in the same case, (Groves et al v.
Slaughter, 15 Peters' Rep. 509) however, emphatically
recognized the exclusive power of Congress over commerce,
yet at the same time conceded the internal police power
to belong exclusively to the States. He stated: ^That the
power of Congress 'to regulate commerce among the several
States' is exclusive of any interference by the States, has
been, in my opinion, conclusively settled by the solemn
opinions of this court, in Gibbons v. Ogden,^^ and in Brown
V. Maryland. . . . Cases may, indeed, arise wherein
there may be found the diflaculty in discriminating be-
tween regulations of 'commerce among the several States,'
and the regulations of 'the internal police of a State,' but
the subject-matter of such regulations, of either descrip-
tion, will lead to the true line which separates them, when"
they are examined with a disposition to avoid a collision
between the powers granted to the Federal Government,
by the people of the several States, and those which they
have reserved exclusively to themselves."
In the case of Prigg v. the Commonwealth of Pennsyl-
vania,^^ Justice Story, in delivering the opinion of the
Court, used the following language in relation to the police
power belonging to the States: "The police power extends
over all subjects within the territorial limits of the States,
and has never been conceded to the United States. . . .
We entertain no doubts whatsoever, that the States, in
virtue of their general police power, possess full jurisdic-
"11 Peters, 102.
" 12 Wheat, 438-446.
"9 Wheat., 186-192.
" 16 Peters' Rep., 625.
POWER OF CONGRESS OVER IMMIGRATION 73
tion to arrest and restrain runaway slaves and remove them
from their borders, and otherwise to secure themselves
.against their depredations and evil example, as certainly
they may do in cases of idlers, vagabonds, and paupers."
In the License cases/"^ Chief Justice Taney still insisted
that there was no absolute prohibition to the exercise of
the power over commerce by the States, in which opinion
Justice Woodbury concurred. However, Justice McLean
did not agree with them as to the power of the States
over commerce but he distinctly recognized the internal
police power of the States. He stated: ''In all matters
of government, and especially of police, a wide discretion
ds necessary. It is not susceptible of an exact limitation,
but must be exercised under the changing exigencies of
society. . . . Under the pretense of a police regulation, a
State cannot counteract the commercial power of Congress.
. . . The police power of a State and the foreign com-
mercial power of Congress must stand together. Neither
of them can be so exercised as materially to affect the
other. The sources and objects of these powers are ex-
clusive, distinct and independent, and are essential to both
governments."
Justice Grier, in the same case said: ''Without attempt-
ing to define what are the peculiar subjects or limits of the
police power, it may safely be affirmed that every law for
the restraint and punishment of crime, for the preserva-
tion of the public peace, health, and morals, must come
within this category. ... It is for this reason that quaran-
tine laws, which protect the public health, compel mere
commercial regulations to submit to their control. They
restrain the liberty of the passengers, they operate on the
ship which is the instrument of commerce, and its officers
and crew, the agents of navigation. . . . Paupers and con-
victs are refused admission into the country. All these
things are done, not from any power which the States as-
sume to regulate commerce or to interfere with the regula-
tions of Congress, but because police laws for the preserva-
"5 Howard, 578.
74
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
tion of health, prevention of crime, and protection of thel
public welfare, must of necessity have full and free opera-'
tion, according to the exigency which requires their inter-!
ference."
The immediate question at issue in the case of Smith v.
Turner and Norris v. City of Boston^ ^ was not, however,'
made dependent upon the construction of the ninth section
of the first article of the constitution, but was, whether thai
enactment of certain laws of New York and Massachusetts,
imposing a tax upon passengers, either foreigners or citizens
coming into the ports in those States, was in conflict with
the power of Congress over commerce. The case of Smith*
V. Turner arose under the health laws of New York. By
the seventh section of the act of that State under con-
sideration, it was provided, ''that the health commissioner
shall demand, and be entitled to receive, etc., from the
master of every vessel from a foreign port, for himself
and each cabin passenger, etc., one dollar, and the master
of each coasting vessel from the States of New Jersey, Con-
necticut, and Rhode Island, shall not pay for more than
one voyage in each month." The eighth section pro-
vided that the moneys so received should be denominated
''hospital moneys"; and the ninth gave "each master pay-
ing hospital moneys, a right to demand and recover from
each person the sum paid on his account." The tenth
provided for a forfeiture of $100 in case of the master's
failure to pay within a certain time; and the eleventh re-
quired the commissioners of health to account to the Comp-
troller of the State, and in case the sum received in any
one year exceeded the expenses of their trust, they were to
pay the surplus to the Treasurer of the Society for the
Reformation of Juvenile Delinquents.
The plaintiff in error was master of the British ship,
Henry Bliss, and landed at New York in June, 1841, two
hundred and ninety steerage passengers, and, refusing to
pay the required tax, the defendant in error brought an
action against him therefor, whereupon he filed a demurrer,
"7 Howard 283 (1848).
POWER OF CONGRESS OVER IMMIGRATION 75
on the ground that the act was a regulation of commerce,
iand in conflict with the Constitution of the United States.
The Supreme Court of the State overruled the demurrer,
land the Court of Errors afiirmed the judgment, and there-
upon it was taken before the Supreme Court of the United
States. Justice McLean, in delivering the opinion of the
Court, concurred in by Justices Catron, Grier, McKinley,
and Wayne, and dissented to by Chief Justice Taney, and
Justices Nelson, Daniel, and Woodbury, considered the case
iunder two general heads: ^'1. Is the power of Congress to
regulate commerce an exclusive power?" and *'2. Is the
statute of New York a regulation of commerce?" Both of
these propositions were answered in the affirmative by the
court.
The case of Norris v. the City of Boston brought before
the court the judgment of the Supreme Court of Massa-
chusetts, which was in favor of the constitutionality of ''an
jact relating to alien passengers," passed April 20, 1837.
I This act contained provisions which, according to the view
I taken in the case of Smith v. Turner, were considered regu-
lations of commerce, and not within the constitutional
power of the State to enact. These provisions were as fol-
lows: Section 1 provided for an examination of all alien
passengers on board by an official designated by the city
government of Boston. Section 2 stated ^'If, on such ex-
amination, there shall be found among said passengers any
lunatic, idiot, maimed, aged or infirmed person, incompe-
tent in the opinion of the officer so examining, to maintain
[themselves, or who have been paupers in any country, no
such alien passenger shall be permitted to land, until the
master, owner, consignee or agent of such vessel, shall have
I given to such city or town a bond in the sum of one thou-
sand dollars, with a good and sufficient security, that no
such lunatic, or indigent passenger shall become a city,
town, or State charge, within ten years from the date of
the said bond." Section 3 was to the effect that ''no alien
passenger, other than those spoken of in the preceding
section, shall be permitted to land until the master, owner,
76
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
consignee, or agent of such vessel, shall pay to the regu- 1
larly appointed boarding officer the sum of two dollars for |:
each passenger so landing; and the money so collected shallij'
be paid into the treasury of the city or town, to be ap- i
propriated as the city or town may direct for the support |
of foreign paupers." |
In his defense of the Massachusetts law, the counsel |
representing the City of Boston stated : "The law of Massa- \
chusetts was not made for the purpose of regulating foreign |
commerce, although it affects it so far as is necessary in
providing for the regulation of a class of persons connected i
with it, but it is in fact an act modifying the pauper laws
of the State, and designed to mitigate, in some degree,
the burdens attempted to be thrown upon us in subjecting :
us to support the alien poor. ... I
''The act is in every feature manifestly a pauper law,
growing out of a pressing emergency. . . . The State has •
exercised for two hundred years the right to make pauper
laws. Can she do it now? I contend that this power is
one of her attributes of sovereignty, which she has never .
surrendered, and now has the right to enjoy. ... 3
"The law of Massachusetts has no reference whatever '
to foreign commerce, except as the instrument employed to :
inflict an injury upon the State. It is the avenue through
which these persons are introduced, and is controlled just
so far as is necessary to mitigate the evil and make it endur-
able, but no farther. Can we not do this? ... I have read
the language of this bench, in which they concede the right
and declare it to be our duty, to exercise our police power
by protective and preventive measures. We are warned
that it is as much our duty to provide against the moral
pestilence of pauperism as against infection. ...
''We may protect ourselves, says the court; but when,
how, where? . . . What can a State do to avert or pre- ,
vent, after the paupers and vagabonds are landed and
mixed with the population? Such an exercise of the power
conceded to us would be barren and useless. We must meet
it on shipboard, as we do disease and dangerous merchan-jii
POWER OF CONGRESS OVER IMMIGRATION 77
dise. There we can put our hands upon the lunatics, idiots,
aged and infirm paupers, etc. There we can learn what the
shipowner, the master, and the agents for emigration
are about. There we can detect their conspiracy with the
parishes of Europe to transfer their poor and their culprits
to this country, to poison our morals and increase our
burdens. There is the place, and the only place, to apply
the corrective, where the evidence can lead to no mistake.
If we cannot meet the evil here, and regulate it here, the
power to expel and the power to prevent are empty and
! worthless.'^
All of the judges delivered written opinions in these
so-called ^'Passenger Cases."^* In Smith v. Turner Justice
McLean stated; 'The case of the City of New York v.
Milne, 11 Pet., 102, is relied on with great confidence as
sustaining the act in question. As I assented to the points
ruled in that case, consistency, unless convinced of having
erred, will compel me to support the law now before us,
if it be the same in principle. ... In the Milne case a
duty was not laid upon the vessel or the passengers, but
a report only was required from the master. Now every
State has an unquestionable right to require a register of
the names of the persons who come within it to reside
temporarily or permanently. It opposed no obstruction to
commerce, imposed no tax nor delay, but acted upon the
master, owner or consignee of the vessel, after the termina-
ls tion of the voyage, and when he was within the territory
of the State, mingling with its citizens, and subject to its
laws.
"But the health law, as it is called, under consideration,
is altogether different in its objects and means. It imposes
a tax or duty on the passengers, officers and sailors, holding
the master responsible for the amount at the immediate
termination of the voyage, and necessarily before the pas-
sengers have set their feet on land. . . . The principle in-
volved is vital to the commercial power of the Union. . . .
The police power of the State cannot draw within its
"7 Howard 283 (1848).
78
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
jurisdiction objects which lie beyond it. In guarding the
safety, health, and morals of its citizens, a State is re-
stricted to appropriate and constitutional means. . . . The
act of New York which imposes a tax on passengers of a
ship from a foreign port, in the manner provided, is a
regulation of foreign commerce, which is exclusively vested
in Congress: and the act is therefore void."
Justice Grier said: ''It is true, that if a State has an
absolute and uncontrolled right to exclude, the inference
that she may prescribe the conditions of entrance, in the
shape of a license or tax, must necessarily follow. The con-
clusion can not be evaded if the premises be proved. A
right to exclude is a power to tax ; and the converse of the
proposition is also true, that a power to tax is a power to
exclude; and it follows, as a necessary result, from this
doctrine, that those States in which are situated the great
ports or gates of commerce have a right to exclude, if they
see fit, all immigrants from access to the interior States,
and to prescribe the conditions on which they shall be al-
lowed to proceed on their journey. ... If these States
retain all the rights of sovereignty, as this argument as- i
sumes, one of the chief objects for which this Union was
formed has totally failed, and 'we may again witness the
scene of conflicting commercial regulations and exactions
which were once so destructive to the harmony of the
States, and fatal to their commercial interests abroad.'
"To guard against the recurrence of the evils, the consti- I
tution has conferred on Congress the power to regulate j
commerce with foreign nations, and among the States in
order that, as regards our intercourse with other nations
and with one another, we might be one people — not a mere f
confederacy of sovereign States for the purpose of defense |
or aggression." ,
Inamediately after the decision in the Passenger Cases^ j
the State of New York modified her statute with a view, i
no doubt, to avoid the constitutional objection. At the ;
time the constitutionality of the law as modified, was again
challenged before the Supreme Court of the United States,
POWER OF CONGRESS OVER IMMIGRATION 79
in Henderson et al v. Mayor of New York et al,-^ its pro-
visions were as follows: The master or owner of every
vessel landing passengers from a foreign port was bound to
make a report similar to the one recited in the statute held
to be valid in the case of New York v. Milne ; and on this
report the Mayor was to indorse a demand upon the master
or owner that he give a bond for every passenger landed
in the city, in the penal sum of $300, conditioned to in-
demnify the commissioners of immigration, and every
county, city, and town in the State, against any expense
for the relief or support of the person named in the bond
for four years thereafter; but the owner or consignee may
commute for such bond, and be released from giving it, by
paying, within twenty-four hours after the landing of the
passengers, the sum of one dollar and fifty cents for each one
of them. If neither the bond be given nor the sum pai J
within the twenty-four hours, a penalty of $500 for each
pauper was incurred, which was made a lien on the vessel,
collectible by attachment at the suit of the Commissioner
of Emigration.
It was argued that the change in the statute took it out
of the principle of the case of Smith v. Turner, the Pas-
senger Case of New York. It was argued that the statute
in that case was a direct tax on the passenger, while in
the present case the requirement of a bond was but a
suitable regulation under the power of the State to pro-
tect its cities and towns from the expense of supporting
persons who are paupers or diseased, or helpless women
and children, coming from foreign countries.
Mr. Justice Miller delivered the opinion of the court, in
which he said: 'Tn whatever language a statute may be
framed, its purpose must be determined by its natural and
reasonable effect; and if it is apparent that the object
of this statute, as judged by that criterion, is to compel
the owners of the vessels to pay a sum of money for every
passenger brought by them from a foreign shore, and
landed at the port of New York, it is as much a tax on
"92 U. S. 259 (1875).
80
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
passengers if collected from them, or a tax on the vessel or
owners as was the statute held void in the Passenger Cases.
To require a heavy and almost impossible condition to the
exercise of this right with the alternative of payment of a
small sum of money is, in effect, to demand payment of
that sum. . . . The cost of preparing the bond and ap-
proving sureties, with the troubles incident to it in each
case, is greater than the sum required to be paid as com-
mutation. It is inevitable, under such a law, that the
money would be paid for each passenger, or the statute
resisted or evaded. It is a law in its purpose and effect
imposing a tax on the owner of the vessel for the privilege
of landing in New York passengers transported from-
foreign countries. ...
'Tt is equally clear that the matter of these statutes
may be, and ought to be, the subject of a uniform system
or plan. The laws which govern the right to land pas-
sengers in the United States from other countries ought
to be the same in New York, Boston, New Orleans, and San
Francisco. ...
"We are of opinion that this whole subject has been
confided to Congress by the constitution; that Congress
can more appropriately and with more acceptance exercise
it than any other body known to our law. State or national;
that by providing a system of laws in these matters, applic-
able to all ports and to all vessels, a serious question, which
has long been a matter of contest and complaint, may
be effectually and satisfactorily settled."
Despite this decision declaring the commutation system
unconstitutional. New York made another attempt in 1881
to find a constitutional method of collecting ''head money"
by passing a law which provided for the collection of one
dollar for inspection purposes. This act was also declared
unconstitutional in People v. Compagnie Generale Trans-
Atlantique.^^
Mr. Justice Miller again delivered the opinion of the
court, in which he stated: ''It is apparent that the object
" 107 U. S. 59, decided February 5, 1883.
POWER OF CONGRESS OVER IMMIGRATION 81
of these New York enactments goes far beyond any correct
view of the purpose of an inspection law. The commis-
sioners are 'To inspect all persons arriving from any foreign
country, to ascertain who among them are habitual crim-
inals, or pauper lunatics, idiots or imbeciles or orphan per-
sons, without means or capacity to support themselves and
subject to become a public charge.' It may safely be said
that these are matters incapable of being satisfactorily
ascertained by inspection. ... In fact, these statutes
differ from those heretofore held void, only in calling them
in their caption 'inspection laws,' and in providing for pay-
ment of any surplus, after the support of paupers, criminals
and diseased persons, into the Treasury of the United
States; a surplus which it is safe to say will never exist.
A State cannot make a law designed to raise money to
support paupers, to detect or prevent crime, to guard
against disease, and to cure the sick, an inspection law,
within the constitutional meaning of that word,-- by call-
ing it so in the title. Since the decision of this case in
the circuit court, Congress has undertaken to do what this
court has repeatedly said it alone had the power to do. . . .
This legislation covers the same ground as the New York
statute, and they cannot co-exist."
These two decisions were the death blow to all future
efforts of the States to regulate immigration and to ex-
clude certain undesirable classes. Since the Supreme Court
had held ''that Congress can more appropriately and with
more acceptance exercise it than any other body known to
our law, State or national," the Federal Government soon
embarked upon a national policy of regulating immigration,
which has resulted in restriction after restriction, until
at the present time we have what may be called "a drastic
immigration law." This transition from State to national
control of immigration was inevitable, for the problem had
become a national one, requiring uniform legislation. State
legislation had been sufficient when the tide of immigra-
tion was not so strong. But the time had now come when
"Article I, Section 10, Clause 2 ofthe Constitution of the United States.
82
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
the States could no longer handle the situation under their
police powers. With the constitutional issue over authority
settled for all time by these decisions of the Supreme Court,
the Federal Government was in a position to deal with the
problem as it saw fit. It is only natural that its first
legislation should have had as its purpose the exclusion of
certain undesirable classes. It was also inevitable that
some time would be required before satisfactory legislation
could be passed. The problem was also complicated by the
coming of the ^'new" immigration, which became a problem
only after the period of Federal legislation had begun.
However, the Federal Government took steps toward legis-
lation following the above decisions of the Supreme Court.
Into a study of this Federal legislation, we shall enter in
the following chapters.
CHAPTER IV
Federal Immigration Legislation to 1914 ^
Early Acts of Congress— Act of 1875— Act of 1882— Acts of 1885, 1887, 1888
—Ford Committee Report— Act of 1891— Acts of 1893— Act of 1894— Rec-
ommendations of President Roosevelt in 1901 — Act of 1903 — Minor Acts —
Act of 1907— Act of 1910— Act of 1913— Conclusions.
On March 2, 1819, Congress passed what can be desig-
nated as the first federal legislation on the subject of immi-
gration. The provision of permanent benefit and hence
of importance in this act was the stipulation that at the
port of landing a full and complete report or manifest was
to be made by the ship's officer to the customs authorities,
which was to state the number of passengers carried, to-
gether with the name, sex, age, and occupation of each.
This resulted in official statistics being collected for the
first time for the year ending September 30, 1820. Since
then we have a continuous record of all arrivals, increasing
in detail with subsequent legal requirements. Another
provision undertook to lessen the evils resulting from the
intolerable overcrowding on ships bringing immigrants into
the United States. It limited the number of passengers
which might be carried on any ship to two to every five
tons of the ship's weight. Furthermore, each ship or vessel
leaving an American port was to have on board for each
passenger carried sixty gallons of water, one gallon of
vinegar, one hundred pounds of salted provisions, and one
hundred pounds of wholesome ship bread. 'Tt is very
* Most standard books on the subject of immigration deal at length with
the period of Federal legislation thru the Act of 1917. Hence only investi-
gations, reports and laws are dealt with in Chapters IV and V. Our pur-
pose is merely to trace the expansion of these laws in order to better
understand the present situation, which is but a part of the continuous
development of restrictions against immigration.
83
84
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
doubtful how much good either of these provisions ever
did to the immigrants. The clause in regard to over-
crowding, based as it was merely on the ship's total weight,
was wholly inadequate to prevent extreme overcrowding
in such parts of the vessel as might be assigned to pas-
sengers. And as far as the provision regarding supplies
is concerned, it could have been of no help to the immi-
grants, as it applied only to ships leaving an American
port."2
Despite the horrible conditions existing on the ships, no
further legislation was passed until 1847, when, on Febru-
ary 22, Congress passed a law superseding that of 1819,
its purpose being to remedy the evils of overcrowding.^
The law was very unsatisfactory and was superseded by
the act of May 17, 1848, which remained in force until
1855. In the mean time the British Government in 1849
passed a law which undertook to remedy the same evils.
However, conditions were but very little improved, so that
in 1853 a select committee of the Senate was appointed
to investigate the conditions of steerage immigration and,
in particular, ''the causes and the extent of the sickness and
mortality prevailing on board the emigrant ships on the
voyage to this country," and to determine what legisla-
tion, if any, was necessary to secure better conditions. The
committee's report of August 2, 1854 * resulted in the en-
actment of a law March 3, 1855, which, with slight modifica-
tions, governed the carriage of immigrants up to 1882. The
act of 1855 limited the number that could be brought to
one for every two tons, not including children under one
year, and counted two children between one and eight years
of age as one person. It also provided that each passenger
on the main and poop decks of vessels should have sixteen
feet of floor space, and on the lower decks eighteen feet.
Concerning this act the Immigration Commission stated;
"Theoretically the law of 1855 provided for an increased
' Fairchild, op. cit., p. 66.
' Sec Abbott, Immigration, Section I, for a number of original documents
dealing with steerage conditions 1751-1882.
* See Senate Committee Report No. 386, 33rd Congress, 1st session.
FEDERAL IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION TO 1914 85
air space, better ventilation, and improved accommodations
in the way of berths, cooking facilities, the serving of food,
free open deck space, and so forth. Although the evil
of overcrowding, which had been attended with such dis-
astrous results in former years, appears to have been espe-
cially aimed at by the makers of the law, the wording of the
act was, unfortunately, such that the provisions relating to
the number of passengers to be carried were inoperative,
as far as the United States law was concerned, between
1855 and 1882." ^
In 1860 an act was passed amending the steerage law
which was designed to secure much-needed protection for
female passengers from immoral conduct on the part of
members of the crew. A fine of $1,000 was imposed on
any person employed on any ship of the United States
who was found guilty of such conduct, and members of
the crew were forbidden to visit parts of the ship assigned
to immigrants, except under the direction or with the per-
mission of the commanding officer.
Another law, the Act of 1864, deserves mention. It pro-
vided that the President should appoint a ''Commissioner
of Immigration"; that immigrants might assign their
wages for a year or less or encumber their land in order to
pay the expenses of emigrating; that no immigrant, unless
he should declare his intention to become a citizen, should
be liable to military service in the Civil War; that a United
States Emigrant Office should be established in New York
City, and the superintendent should make contracts with
railroads and transportation companies for carrying immi-
grants to their destination, and should provide them with
all needed information ; and that the Commissioner should
furnish an annual report to Congress of the workings of
his bureau. However, this act was in the nature of a War
measure, designed to fill the places of the men sent to the
front, and since the necessity for its continuation ceased
when the men in the army re-entered peaceful pursuits, it
was repealed in 1868.
•Rept. Imm. Com., Steerage Legislation, abs., p. 11.
86
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
The next exercise of the power of Congress over immi-
gration was not in order to regulate immigration generally,
but to suppress one specific evil, the coolie trade. The Act
of February 19, 1862 « and the Act of February 9,
1869/ which prohibited the building, equipping, loading,
or preparing any vessel licensed, enrolled, or registered in
the United States for procuring coolies from any Oriental
country to be held for service or labor, were not specifically
directed against the Chinese as such, but against a grade
of cheap Oriental labor imported largely under a system
of contract which amounted to a species of slavery. Vessels
employed in the coolie trade were to be forfeited, and the
building of vessels to engage in this trade, as well as the
trade itself, was made a criminal offense. The act did not,
however, interfere with the voluntary emigration of coolies
or others if a certificate had been made before the consular
agent of the United States, at the port of departure, certify-
ing to the fact of such voluntary emigration.
However, the period of Federal legislation, which has
resulted in the growth of a complicated body of federal
immigration laws, may be said to have really begun with
the act of March 3, 1875, although it is also sometimes
dated from the Act of August 3, 1882, since the latter is
the first inclusive federal immigration law.
The act of March 3, 1875 ^ prohibited the importation of
women for purposes of prostitution and alien convicts. The
immigration of large numbers of Chinese laborers into the
Pacific Coast States had resulted in a demand for Chinese
and Japanese prostitutes and certain persons were making
it a business to import them. Section 1 of the act gave
the consular officer at the port from which it was proposed
to convey these women, authority to make inquiry as to
whether the emigration was free and voluntary or whether
it was under contract, the women to be used for lewd and
immoral purposes. If the latter, then the consular official
could not deliver the required certificate or permit to the
master of the vessel. Any citizen of the United States or
• 12 Stat. 340. ' 15 Stat. 269. ' 18 Stat 477.
FEDERAL IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION TO 1914 87
other person amenable to the laws of the United States
who transported subjects of China or Japan to the United
States without their free consent was subject to fine and
imprisonment. Section 3 declared the importation of
women for purposes of prostitution a felony and the con-
tract was to be declared void. Section 4 declared it to be a
felony to import any coolie into the United States. Section
5 declared ''That it shall be unlawful for aliens of the fol-
lowing classes to immigrate into the United States, namely,
persons who are undergoing a sentence for conviction in
their own country of felonious crimes other than political
or growing out of or the result of such political offenses,
or whose sentence has been remitted on condition of their
emigration, and women imported for purposes of prostitu-
tion." It was necessary to exclude alien convicts because
the practice was still common on the part of certain coun-
tries to remit sentences on the condition of emigration.
The act provided for the search of vessels suspected of con-
taining persons of the excluded classes which applied to
immigrants from all countries, whether Oriental or not,^
although the facts are that many continued to get into the
United States. However, this law was a step forward in
the right direction toward restriction, for it provided for
the exclusion of at least three obviously undesirable types
of immigrants, — the coolie, the alien convict and the foreign
prostitute.
The enormous immigration of 1882, which totalled
788,992, a point which had never been reached before and
was not reached again until 1903; the agitation of the
laboring classes, who were adversely affected by it ; and the
important decisions of the Supreme Court, previously dis-
cussed, which declared State restrictions of immigration
to be illegal regulations of commerce, led to the passage in
that year of the first general immigration law. Section 1
of the Act of August 3, 1882 provided that a duty of fifty
cents was to be levied on each and every passenger not a
citizen of the United States who came from a foreign port
"U. S. V. Johnson, 7 Fed. Rep. 453 (1881). "22 Stat. 214.
88
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
to any port within the United States. This duty was to be
collectible at the port of landing and paid into the United
States Treasury and to be known as the "immigrant fund."
There was the provision that "The money thus collected
shall be used to defray the expense of regulating im-
migration under this act, and for the care of immigrants
arriving in the United States, for the relief of such as are in
distress, and for the general purposes and expenses of carry-
ing this act into effect, . . . Provided, That no greater sum
shall be expended for the purposes hereinbefore mentioned,
at any port, than shall have been collected at such port."
This was the provision to which Mr. Justice Miller referred
in People v. Compagnie Generale Trans-Atlantique,
when, in declaring the inspection law of New York, which
imposed a head tax, illegal, he said, "the two cannot
co-exist."
Section 2 provided "That the Secretary of the Treasury
is hereby charged with the duty of executing the provisions
of this act and with supervision over the business of im-
migration into the United States, and for that purpose he
shall have power to enter into contracts with such State
commissions, board or officers as may be designated for that
purpose by the governor of any State to take charge of the
local affairs of immigration in the ports within the said
State." The examination of the condition of passengers
on arrival was made the duty of the State boards or com-
missions. This section also extended the number of ex-
cluded classes as follows: "if on such examination there
shall be found among such passengers any convict, lunatic,
idiot or any person unable to take care of himself or her-
self without becoming a public charge, they shall report
the same in writing to the collector of such port, and such
persons shall not be permitted to land." Section 3 em-
powered the Secretary of the Treasury to make proper pro-
visions to protect immigrants from fraud and loss, and to
carry out the law. Section 4 stated, "That all foreign con-
victs except those convicted of political offenses, upon ar-
rival, shall be sent back to the nations to which they be-
FEDERAL IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION TO 1914 89
long and from whence they came." Section 5 provided,
"That this act shall take effect immediately."
The important things to note in this act of 1882 are (1)
the imposition of a federal head tax; (2) the extension of
the excluded classes to include lunatics, idiots, and per-
sons likely to become a public charge; (3) the return of
excluded aliens at the expense of the ship owners; and
(4) the assignment of the responsibility for the execution
of the immigration laws to the Secretary of the Treasury,
although State commissions were to continue to do the
actual work of examination. In this act Congress put up
several bars to exclude certain undesirable classes and to
check immigration. This was indeed a big and important
step forward, — the first one of any real importance, either
state or national.
The next act dealing with the subject of immigration
was section 22 of the act of July 26, 1884, '^An act to remove
certain burdens on the American merchant marine, etc.,"^^
which was designed to eliminate a discrimination against
the water transportation in favor of land transportation
from Canada and Mexico. It provided that until the pro-
visions of the Act of August 3, 1882, ''shall be made applic-
able to passengers coming into the United States by land
carriage, said provisions shall not apply to passengers
coming by vessels employed exclusively in the trade be-
tween the ports of the United States and the ports of the
Dominion of Canada or the ports of Mexico." It was
obvious that if persons from these countries, who came
by water, were subject to the same tax and to the same
examination and restrictions as immigrants from European
countries, they would when possible, come by means of
land transportation. ^2
"23 Stat. 58.
"For. Rel. 1888, I, 808-9, or Moore's Digest, Vol. IV, p. 163, gives an
interesting case. Concerning the settlement of a number of Indians in
British Columbia within the territory of Alaska, the Secretary of the
Treasury stated that as section 1 of the Act of August 3, 1882 applied only
to passengers who should "come by steam or sail vessel from a foreign port
to any port within the United States," and section 22 of the Act of June 26,
1884, in effect abolished the capitation tax on immigrants from contiguous
foreign territory, the immigration in question was not unlawful.
90
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
The Act of February 26, 1885 forbade the immigration
of ahens under contract to labor. By section 1 it was made
"unlawful for any person, company, partnership, or corpora-
tion, in any manner whatsoever, to prepay the transporta-
tion, or in any way assist or encourage the importation or
migration of any alien or aliens, any foreigner or foreigners,
into the United States, its Territories, or the District ol
Columbia, under contract or agreement, parol or special,
express or implied, made previous to the importation or
migration of such alien or aliens, foreigner or foreigners, to
perform labor or service of any kind in the United States,
its Territories, or the District of Columbia."
By section 2 all such contracts or agreements were de-
clared to be ''utterly void and of no effect." By section 3
a penalty of $1,000 was imposed on every violation of the
first section, the fine to be paid by the person, partnership,
company, or corporation violating the law.
Section 4 provided that "the master of any vessel who
shall knowingly bring within the United States on any such
vessel, and land, or permit to be landed, from any foreign
port or place, any alien laborer, mechanic, or artisan who,
previous to embarkation on such vessel, had entered into
contract or agreement, parol or special, express or implied,
to perform labor or service in the United States, shall be
deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction there-
of, shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hun-
dred dollars for each and every such alien laborer, mechanic
or artisan so brought as aforesaid, and may also be im-
prisoned for a term not exceeding six months."
Section 5 provided for the following exception from the
provisions of the law: "That nothing in this act shall be
so construed as to prevent any citizen or subject of any
foreign country temporarily residing in the United States,
either in private or official capacity, from engaging, under
contract or otherwise, persons not residents or citizens of
the United States to act as private secretaries, servants,
or domestics for such foreigners temporarily residing in the
United States as aforesaid; nor shall this act be so con-
FEDERAL IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION TO 1914 91
strued as to prevent any person, or persons, partnership,
or corporation from engaging, under contract or agreement,
skilled workmen in foreign countries to perform labor in the
United States in or upon any new industry not at present
^established in the United States: Provided, That skilled
labor for that purpose cannot be otherwise obtained; nor
shall the provisions of this act apply to professional actors,
artists, lecturers, or singers, nor to persons employed strictly
as personal or domestic servants: Provided, That nothing
:in this act shall be construed as prohibiting any individ-
ual from assisting any member of his family or any rela-
tive or personal friend, to migrate from any foreign coun-
try to the United States, for the purpose of settlement
here."
'^'This act of February 26, 1885 is popularly known as the
"Ahen Contract Labor Law." After the recovery from
the panic of 1873, there was a marked growth in the ranks
of organized labor due to the fact that industrial enter-
prises, especially mining, developed rapidly. Conflicts
between the employers and the employees were the in-
evitable result. In order to resist the demands of the latter,
the employers began to import from Europe large numbers
of laborers under contract to work for lower wages than the
labor unions asked and demanded. This resulted in pres-
sure being put on Congress to pass legislation to prevent
such importation of unskilled labor under contract which
was always willing and able to accept lower wages since
its standard of living was lower than that of American
labor. Congress heeded the demand when it passed the
above law, the constitutionality of which was upheld by the
courts under the commerce clause in the Constitution.
However, the courts pointed out a weakness to be remedied
when it was held that an offer to employ followed by the
"The following cases have dealt with the contract labor provision: U. S.
V. Craig, 28 Fed. Rep. 795 (1886) ; Re Florio, 43 Fed. Rep. 114 (1890) ; Lees
V. U. S., 150 U. S. 476 (1893) ; Church of the Holy Trinity v. United States,
143 U. S. Reports 457 (1892) ; Botis v. Davies et al., Immigration Inspectors,
1.73 Fed. Rep. 996 (1909); United States v. International Silver Company,
2/1 l ed. Rep. 925 (1921).
92
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
immigration of the alien did not violate the provisions of
the law against contract labor, since the contract had not
been fully and directly made. Under this interpretation
employers desiring to import labor soon found the means
to let it be known that employment was to be had at such
and such a place, without making a contrac^t, if the un-
skilled labor desired would emigrate there.Vf/ While it is
sometimes argued that it would be very difficult for any
person who had the slightest idea of what he was going to
do in this country to prove himself outside the letter of the
law, yet it is not difficult to draw the line between immigra-
tion which has been assured of employment at certain
places, especially when the assurance has come from an
agent who is paid a bonus, and immigration that comes
without such an artificial inducement.^^
By the Act of February 23, 1887, the execution of the
Act of February 26, 1885 was committed to the Secretary
of the Treasury, who ''shall establish such regulations
and rules, and issue from time to time such instructions, not
inconsistent with the law, as he shall deem best calculated
for carrying out the provisions of this act/' and it provided
''that all persons included in the prohibition in this act,
upon arrival, shall be sent back to the nations to which
they belong and from whence they came. . . . The expense
of such return of the aforesaid persons not permitted to
land shall be borne by the owners of the vessels in which
they came."^^
By the Act of October 19, 1888, the Act of February 23,
1887 was "so amended as to authorize the Secretary of the
Treasury, in case he shall be satisfied that an immigrant
has been allowed to land contrary to the prohibition of the
" See Extract from "Immigration," Reports of the U. S. Industrial Com-
mission, XV (1901), pp. 647-48 for a discussion of the difficulties under the
contract labor legislation.
" For typical cases under the contract labor law see the Annual Report
of the Commissioner-General of Immigration for 1908, pp. 130-133. See
also his report for 1914 for an account of some contract labor cases in
whif'h lurgc fines were assessed.
" 24 Stat. 414.
FEDERAL IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION TO 1914 93
ilaw, to cause such immigrant within the period of one year
I after landing or entry, to be taken into custody and re-
turned to the country from whence he came, at the expense
of the owner of the importing vessel, or, if he entered from
I an adjoining country, at the expense of the person pre-
viously contracting for his services."^''' This provision is
important in that it again introduced the principle of de-
portation after landing, a principle to be distinguished from
exclusion or restriction of immigration. The acts of 1887
iand 1888 were amendatory to the Alien Contract Labor
Law. Taken together the wording is strict and very inclu-
sive. The burden of proof is upon the immigrant.
It is interesting to note that on May 17, 1889 the Swiss
minister at Washington brought to the attention of the
Deparment of State the case of certain citizens of Switzer-
land whom the authorities at New York had refused to
permit to land under the laws then existing and had caused
to be sent back to Europe. ^'The minister stated that by
the Swiss federal law of March 22, 1888, it was provided
that emigration agencies should not ship to foreign coun-
tries any persons who were not allowed to enter there
by the laws in force in such countries. For such sending
the law provided appropriate penalties. The minister
therefore requested to be advised of the exact reasons why
the persons in question had not been allowed to land. It
appeared by investigation that two of them were sent back
because they were unable to take care of themselves, and
were likely to become a public charge; that another was
subject to the same objections, besides being a convict,
who had served a term of imprisonment in Switzerland,
while three others were returned as paupers."^^ This cor-
I respondence not only recognized the right of the United
States to exclude immigrants, but it also indicates that the
, laws were working to exclude at least some undesirables.
However, that the enforcement of these laws was not
"25 Stat. 566.
"Moore's Digest, Vol. IV, p. 164, or For. Rcl. 1889, 701-2
94
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
what it should have been is evident from the "Report of
the lord Committee, the Select Committee to Inquire into
the importation of Contract Laborers, Convicts, Paupers,
etc. January, 1889."^^ This report stated: ''Owing to
the large number of immigrants received each day during
the spring and summer months questions must be asked
rapidly, and the inspection is necessarily done in a very
hurried manner, in order that there may be no undue delay
in landing them. . . . The testimony taken puts it beyond
doubt that large numbers of persons not lawfully entitled
to land in the United States are annually received. . . .
New York State annually expends in taking care of paupers,
insane persons, etc., $20,000,000, and this condition of
affairs is largely due to improper immigration. . . . Along
the border between Canada and the United States no in-
spection whatever is made of immigrants; and alien
paupers, insane persons, etc., may land at Quebec and at
once proceed to this country without any let or hindrance.
. . . Many persons belonging to the criminal class have
been sent to the United States by officials of the European
Governments and they have persisted in this course even
after having been requested by officials of our government
to discontinue it. . . . Evasions of the contract labor law
are much more numerous than convictions. ... In the
opinion of the committee the non-enforcement of these acts
is not so much due to a want of diligence on the part of the
officials having their administration in charge as it is to
a lack of proper machinery to carry them into effect. The
committee believe that the enforcement of all acts designed
to regulate immigration should be intrusted to the Federal
Government and not to the States. The regulation of im-
migration is a matter affecting the whole Union, and is pre-
eminently a proper subject for Federal control. . .
An increase in immigration after 1886, until in 1891 it
had reached more than 560,000, together with the ascer-
tained inefficiency of the laws passed up to that time, led to
a general codification and strengthening of the various
""SOth Congross, 2nd Sossion, House Report, No. 3792.
FEDERAL IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION TO 1914 95
statutes in the Act of March 3, 1891. This act added to the
excluded classes paupers, persons suffering from a loath-
some or dangerous contagious disease, polygamists and per-
sons whose tickets of passage had been paid for by another
or who had been assisted by others to come, unless it was
affirmatively shown on special inquiry that they were not
otherwise objectionable. Under this act then the number
of excluded classes had increased to seven, other than
Chinese laborers. These were all idiots, insane persons,
paupers or persons likely to become a public charge, persons
suffering from a loathsome or dangerous contagious disease,
persons who had been convicted of a felony or other in-
famous crime or misdemeanor involving moral inturpitude,
polygamists and assisted immigrants. However, section 1
stated: "but this section shall not be held to exclude persons
living in the United States from sending for a relative or
friend who is not of the excluded classes under such regula-
tions as the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe: Pro-
vided, That nothing in this act shall be construed to apply
to or exclude persons convicted of a political offense, not-
withstanding said political offense may be designated as a
'felony, crime, infamous crime, or misdemeanor, involving
moral inturpitude' by the laws of the land whence he came
or by the court convicting."
Section 3 deemed it a violation of the Act of February
26, 1885 ''to assist or encourage the importation or migra-
tion of any alien by promise of employment through adver-
tisements printed and published in any foreign country;
and any alien coming to this country in consequence of such
an advertisement shall be treated as coming under a con-
tract as contemplated by such act."-^
Section 4 provided that "no steamship or transportation
company or owner of vessels shall directly, or through
agents, either by writing, printing, or oral representations,
solicit, invite, or encourage the immigration of any alien
into the LTnited States except by ordinary commercial
letters, circulars, advertisements, or oral representatives,
"^U. S. V. Baltic Mills Co., 124 Fed. Rep. 38 (1903) upheld this.
96
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
stating the sailings of their vessels and the terms and facili- ■
ties of transportation therein." Thus, soliciting of immi-;
gration was forbidden, a violation of which was subject to
the same penalties as those imposed by the third section
of the Act of February 26, 1885. However, despite the law,
violations continued, the immigrants being well-coached
and warned on the subject so as to make it difficult to
obtain the evidence necessary in many cases to justify
deportation.
By section 5 the fifth section of the Act of February 26,
1885 is ''amended by adding to the second proviso in said
section the words 'nor to ministers of any religious denom-
ination, nor persons belonging to any recognized profession,
nor professors for colleges and seminaries,' and by exclud-
ing from the second proviso of said section the words 'or
any relative or personal friend.' "
By section 6, the bringing into or landing in the United
States, or the aiding in so doing, by vessel or otherwise,
of any alien not lawfully entitled to enter is made a mis-
demeanor, punishable by a fine not exceeding $1,000, or
by imprisonment not exceeding a year, or both.
Section 7 created the office of superintendent of immigra-
tion in the Treasury Department.
By section 8, provision is made for the medical inspec-
tion of alien immigrants by surgeons of the Marine Hos-
pital Service; and it declared that "all decisions made by
the inspection officers or their assistants touching the right
of an alien to land, when adverse to such right, shall be
final unless appeal be taken to the superintendent of immi-
gration, whose action shall be subject to review by the
Secretary of the Treasury.'' This section enlarged the scope
of the Immigration Bureau's work in that it took away the
power of inspection from the state boards and commissions,
and it also took away from the courts the power to revise
the decision of immigration officers that an immigrant
should not be permitted to land,^^ but it was held later
that the courts had the power to pass upon the ques-
"Ekiu V. United States, 142 U. S. 651 (1892),
FEDERAL IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION TO 1914 97
tion whether the petitioner were an alien immigrant or
not.22
By the same section ''the Secretary of the Treasury
may prescribe rules for inspection along the borders of
Canada, British Columbia, and Mexico so as not to obstruct
or unnecessarily delay, impede, or annoy passengers in
ordinary travel between said countries." In the same sec-
tion was the provision that any officer or agent or person in
charge of a vessel, who shall knowingly or negligently land
or permit to land any alien immigrant at a place or time
other than that designated by the inspection officers, may
be punished as for a misdemeanor, as under Section 6.
By Section 9, local peace officers are permitted to make
arrests for crimes under the local laws at immigrant sta-
tions.
Section 10 provided that ''all aliens who may unlawfully
come into the United States shall, if practicable, be im-
mediately sent back on the vessel by which they were
brought in," the cost of their return, including their main-
tenance while on land, to be borne by the owners ; and any
master, agent, consignee or owner refusing to perform these
duties is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable with a fine
of not less than $300 for each and every offense, besides
refusal of clearance to the vessel while the fine is unpaid.
Section 11 stated, "That any alien who shall come into
the United States in violation of law may be returned as
by law provided, at any time within one year thereafter, at
the expense of the person or persons, vessel, transportation
company, or corporation bringing such alien into the United
States, and if that cannot be done, then at the expense of
the United States; and any alien who becomes a public
charge within one year after his arrival in the United States
from causes existing prior to his landing therein shall be
deemed to have come in violation of law and shall be re-
turned as aforesaid."
By Section 12, all proceedings, criminal or civil, begun
"Re Simone, 108 Fed. Rep. 942 (1901). Sec Quon Quon Poy v. Johnson,
infra p. 302, for an important case decided February 21, 1927. Also see
cases cited in note 14 on p. 140.
98
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
under previous acts, were saved; and by Section 13, the
United States circuit and district courts *^are hereby in-
vested with full and concurrent jurisdiction of all causes,
criminal and civil, arising under any of the provisions of
this act; and this act shall go into effect on April 1, 1891.^'
It is obvious from the above provisions that this was
the most comprehensive law ever passed up to that time.
The important provisions were, (1) the extension of the
excluded classes; (2) the prohibition of encouragement of
immigration by advertising or solicitation; (3) the aboli-
tion of the exception which had almost destroyed the former ji
law, which permitted persons here to assist "any relative-
or personal friend" to enter the United States regardless of-
the alien contract labor law; (4) the requirement of mani-
fests; (5) the complete assumption of the work of inspec- I
tion by the Federal Government; (6) the extension of the i
principle of deportation to public charges. Here were im-
portant additional bars to immigration. By this act the 1}
wall was built considerably higher to check the ever-swell- \
ing tide of immigration, which since 1880 had begun to flow \
from a new source, — viz., from southern and eastern Europe. |
By the Act of February 15, 1893,-^ which granted ad-
ditional quarantine powers and imposed additional duties
upon the Marine Hospital Service, it was provided in Sec-
tion 7, "That whenever it shall be shown to the satisfac- '
tion of the President that by reason of the existence of :
cholera or other infectious or contagious diseases in a
foreign country there is serious danger of the introduction ,
of the same into the United States, and that notwithstand- :
ing the quarantine defense this danger is so increased by
the introduction of persons or property from such country
that a suspension of the right to introduce the same is
demanded in the interests of the public health, the Presi-
dent shall have the power to prohibit, in whole or in part, !
the introduction of persons and property from such coun- ;
tries or places as he shall designate and for such period of j
time as he may deem necessary."
"27 Stat. 449. ^52.
FEDERAL IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION TO 1914 99
The Act of March 3, 1893 was merely an administrr.tive
measure covering the inspection and deportation of aliens,
made necessary by the extensions of jurisdiction and the
list of excluded classes in the Act of 1891. It did not, how-
ever, add to the excluded classes.
By Section 1 the masters of vessels having on board alien
immigrants are required to deliver on arrival to the in-
spector of immigration ''lists or manifests made at the time
and place of embarkation of such alien immigrants on
board such steamer or vessel, which shall, in answer to
questions at the top of said lists, state as to each immigrant
the full name, age, and sex, whether married or single; the
calling or occupation; whether able to read or write; the
nationality; the last residence; the seaport for landing in
the United States; the final destination, if any, beyond
the seaport of landing; whether having a ticket through to
such final destination; whether the immigrant has paid
his own passage or whether it has been paid by other
persons or by any corporation, society, municipality, or
government; whether in possession of money, and if so,
whether upwards of thirty dollars and how much if thirty
dollars or less; whether going to join a relative, and if so,
what relative and his name and address; whether ever be-
fore in the United States, and if so, when and where;
whether ever in prison or almshouse or supported by char-
ity; whether a polygamist; whether under contract, ex-
press or implied, to perform labor in the United States;
and what is the immigrant's condition of health mentally
and physically, and whether deformed or crippled, and if
so, from what cause." It is obvious that this greatly en-
larged the detailed information to be included in the
manifests.
By Section 2, no one list or manifest shall group more
than thirty names; each immigrant or head of family must
be ticketed for identification; and each list or manifest
must be verified in a prescribed manner, the master of the
vessel having to certify that he and the ship's surgeon have
»*27 Stat. 569.
100 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
made an examination of all the immigrants before sail-
ing, and believe none of them to belong to the excluded
classes.
Section 3 requires each list or manifest to be certified
in like manner, under oath or affirmation, before the de-
parture of the vessel, by the vessel's surgeon, or, if none,
by some competent surgeon employed by the owners of the
vessel. Section 4 imposes on the master of the vessel a
fine of ten dollars for each immigrant qualified to enter
the United States who is not duly listed, or manifested, be-
sides excluding such immigrants and requiring them to be
''returned like other excluded persons."
By Section 5 the inspector is required to ''detain for
a special inquiry," under Section 1 of the Act of March
3, 1891, "every person who may not appear to him to be
clearly and beyond doubt entitled to admission." Special
inquiries are conducted by not less than four inspectors,
the concurrence of at least three of whom is necessary to
a favorable decision; and such a decision may be appealed
by any dissenting inspector to the superintendent of im-
migration, whose action is subject to review by the Secre-
tary of the Treasury.
Section 6 relates to medical examinations and by Section
7 no bond or guaranty that an alien immigrant shall not
become a public charge can be received except under specific
authority of the superintendent of immigration, with the
written approval of the Secretary of the Treasury. This
provision was to discourage the giving of bonds, as these
were found to be practically useless, owing to the expense,
delay, and difficulty involved in attempting to bring suit
upon them.
Section 8 requires all steamship or transportation com-
panies and other owners of vessels, regularly engaged in
transporting alien immigrants to the United States to keep
conspicuously exposed to view in the office of each of their
agents in foreign countries authorized to sell emigrant tick-
ets, a copy of the laws of the United States relative to immi-
gration, printed in large letters in the language of the coun-
FEDERAL IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION TO 1914 101
try where the copy of the law is to be exposed to view and
their agents are required to call the attention thereto of per-
sons contemplating emigration before selling tickets to them.
Section 9 provided for the sale of certain privileges at
Ellis Island and Section 10 provided that the act shall not
apply to Chinese persons, and that the act should go into
effect sixty days after its passage.
The sundry civil appropriations act of August 18, 1894
had several provisions relative to immigration as follows:
^'In every case where an alien is excluded from admission
into the United States under any law or treaty now exist-
ing or hereafter made, the decision of the appropriate
immigration or custom's officers, if adverse to the admis-
sion of such alien, shall be final, unless reversed on appeal
to the Secretary of the Treasury." 'The head money
from alien passengers on and after the first day of October
next, collected under the Act of August 3, 1882, to regulate
immigration shall be one dollar in lieu of the fifty cents as
provided in said act."
'The commissioners of immigration at the several ports
shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice
and consent of the Senate, to hold their office for a term
of four years, unless sooner removed, and until their suc-
cessors are appointed."
The appointment of commissioners for the several ports,
the increase of the head tax to $1.00 and the provision con-
cerning repeal were all steps in the right direction toward
better enforcement of the laws. The last provision was
an attempt to get rid of the interference of the Courts in
immigration matters. Formerly habeas corpus proceedings
were frequently resorted to with the result that the
efficiency of executive action was much impaired. The
result of this new provision was that ''the right to deter-
mine whether an alien was an immigrant was taken from
the courts entirely; and the immigration acts were made
applicable to aliens who, having acquired a domicile here
and then gone abroad, attempted to re-enter the coun-
=^28 Stat. 390,
102
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
try.-*^ Unless, therefore, the United States admits that the
immigrant is a citizen, the decision of the immigration offi-
cers as to that fact and as to their jurisdiction is final.^"^ As
this act applies, moreover, only when the decision is adverse
to the right of the alien to land, if the decision be favor-
able, the Federal authorities can still question his right,
as for example under the Chinese Exclusion Acts.^^"
By the Act of March 2, 1895,^^ making appropriations
for the legislative, executive and judicial expenses of the
Government, the title of the Superintendent of Immigra-
tion was made Commissioner-General of Immigration ; and
by the Act of June 6, 1900,^^ he was also charged with the
administration of the Chinese exclusion laws.
In his annual message of December 3, 1901, President
Roosevelt stated: ''Our present immigration laws are unsat-
isfactory. There should be a comprehensive law enacted
with the object of working a three-fold improvement over
our present system. First, we should aim to exclude abso-
lutely not only all persons who are known to be believers in
anarchistic principles or members of anarchistic societies,
but also all persons who are of a low moral tendency or of
unsavory reputation. This means that we should require
a more thorough system of inspection abroad and a more
rigid system of examination at our immigration ports, the
former being especially necessary.
''The second object of a proper immigration law ought
to be to secure by a careful and not merely perfunctory
educational test some intelligent capacity to appreciate
American institutions and act sanely as American citizens.
This would not ke.ep out all anarchists, for many of them
belong to the intelligent criminal class. But it would do
^Lem Moon Sing v. United States, 158 U. S. 538 (1895).
^United States v. Ju Toy, 198 U. S. 253 (1905), overruling Re Tom Yum,
64 Fed. Rep. 485 (1894). This would seem to be a somewhat extreme
statement of the principle envolved in the Ju Toy case. See cases cited
on p. 97, note 22, and on p. 140, note 14.
=*Li Sing V. United States, 180 U. S. 490 (1901).
^Hall, Immigration, p. 216.
28 Stat. 780.
"31 Stat. 611.
FEDERAL IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION TO 1914 103
what is also in point — that is, tend to decrease the sum of
ignorance, so potent in producing the envy, suspicion,
mahgnant passion, and hatred of order out of which anar-
chistic sentiment inevitably springs. Finally, all persons
should be excluded who are below a certain standard of
economic fitness to enter our industrial field as competitors
with American labor. There should be proper proof of per-
sonal capacity to earn an American living and enough
money to insure a decent start under American conditions.
This would stop the influx of cheap labor, and the resulting
competition which gives rise to so much of bitterness in
American industrial life, and it would dry up the springs
of the pestilential social conditions in our great cities, where
anarchistic organizations have their greatest possibility of
growth.
''Both the educational and economic tests in a wise immi-
gration law should be designed to protect and elevate the
general body politic and social. A very close supervision
should be exercised over the steamship companies which
mainly bring over the immigrants, and they should be held
to a strict accountability for any infraction of the law."
This message but voiced the agitation for further restric-
tion of immigration which had been growing stronger and
louder during the ten years after the passage of the Act of
1893. Rills adding i11iterfl,tpg tr> fhp pvplnrlpH plo^gpg pgggprl
one or the_other house of Congress seven times in this,
period, and when in 1896 such an act passed both houses
at the same time, it met with a veto by President Cleve-
land. However, it was felt by most persons familiar with
the subject that the Act of 1893 left many loopholes for
the admission of undesirables, and that, pending radical
action by Congress, the machinery of exclusion needed re-
pairing and strengthening. Some of these defects were
enumerated in the report of an Immigration Investigating
Commission in 1895, while other amendments were sug-
gested by witnesses testifying before the Industrial Com-
mission in 1901. A general meeting of the commissioners
of the various ports was held in 1902 to obtain an expres-
104 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
sion of opinion as to the changes most needed. The final
outcome of it all was the Act of March 3, 1903,^^ **an act
to regulate the immigration of aliens into the United
States."
Section 1 provided that 'Hhere shall be levied, collected, i
and paid a duty of two dollars for each and every passenger j
not a citizen of the United States, the Dominion of Canada, y
the Republic of Cuba, or the Republic of Mexico, who shall
come by steam, sail, or other vessel from any foreign port
to any port within the United States, or by any railway
or any other mode of transportation, from foreign con-
tiguous territory to the United States. . . . The money
thus collected shall constitute a permanent appropriation-
to be called the 'immigrant fund,' " to be used for purposes
connected with the immigration of aliens. !
Section 2 provided that the following classes of aliens
shall be excluded from admission into the United States:
(1) all idiots; (2) epileptics; (3) insane persons, persons
who have been insane within five years previous, and per-
sons who have had two or more attacks of insanity at any
time previously; (4) paupers, persons likely to become a
public charge, and professional beggars; (5) persons af-
flicted with a loathsome or with a dangerous contagious
disease; (6) persons who have been convicted of a felony
or other crime or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude;
(7) polygamists; (8) anarchists, or persons who believe in
or advocate the overthrow by force or violence of the Gov-
ernment of the United States or of all government or of
all forms of law, or the assassination of public officials; (9)
prostitutes, and persons who procure or attempt to bring
in prostitutes or women for the purpose of prostitution;
(10) those who have been, within one year from the date
of the application for admission to the United States, de-
ported as being under offers, solicitations, promises or agree-
ments to perform labor or service of some kind therein;
and also, (11) any person whose ticket or passage is paid
for with the money of another, or who is assisted by others
"32 Stat., part I, p. 1213.
FEDERAL IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION TO 1914 105
lal to come, unless it is affirmatively and satisfactorily shown
ct that such person does not belong to one of the foregoing
excluded classes. It was provided, however, that ''this
section shall not be held to prevent persons living in the
United States from sending for a relative or friend who is
not of the foregoing excluded classes : Provided, That noth-
ing in this act shall exclude persons convicted of an offense
purely political, not involving moral turpitude: And pro-
vided further. That the provisions of this law applicable to
contract labor shall not be held to exclude professional
actors, artists, lecturers, singers, ministers of any religious
denomination, professors for colleges and seminaries, per-
; sons belonging to any recognized learned profession, or per-
sons employed strictly as personal or domestic servants."
By Section 3, ''the importation into the United States
of any woman or girl for the purposes of prostitution is
hereby forbidden; and whoever shall import or attempt to
import any woman or girl into the United States for the
! purposes of prostitution, or shall hold or attempt to hold,
I any woman or girl for such purposes in pursuance of such
i illegal importation shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and,
on conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned not less than
one nor more than five years and pay a fine not exceeding
five thousand dollars."
Section 4 made it unlawful "to prepay the transportation
or in any way to assist or encourage the importation or
migration of any alien into the United States, in pursuance
of any offer, solicitation, promise, or agreement, parole or
special, expressed or implied, made previous to the impor-
tation of such alien to perform labor or service of any kind,
skilled or unskilled, in the United States."
By Section 5 any violation of Section 4 is subject to a
penalty of $1,000, while by Section 6 it is likewise punish-
able "to assist or encourage the importation or migration
" Through an oversight in drafting this act, which was intended to be a
complete codification of the then existing law, no mention was made of
contract laborers among the excluded classes, but it was held that they were
still excluded under the previous Acts of 1885 and 1888, a construction justi-
fied by the provisions in regard to contract laborers in this act.
106 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
of any alien by promise of employment through advertise
ments printed and published in any foreign country;" bu
this does not apply to State or Territorial advertising of
inducements to immigrants. Section 7 substantially re-
enacts Section 4 of the Act of March 3, 1891. '
By Section 8 the bringing into or landing in the United ]
States, or the attempt to do so, by vessel or otherwise, either
personally or through an agent, of an alien not duly ad-
mitted by an immigrant inspector, or not lawfully entitled
to enter the United States, is a misdemeanor, subject to a.
fine not exceeding $1,000 for each such act or attempt, or
imprisonment for not less than three months nor more
than two years, or to both such fine and imprisonment.
Sections 9, 10, and 11 relate to the exclusion of diseased
persons and to medical inspections. Section 9 provides that
the bringing in of any person afflicted with a loathsome or
a dangerous contagious disease by any person or company,
except railway lines, is forbidden. A fine of $100 is attached
for each and every violation if it appears that the disease
might have been detected at the time of embarkation.
Section 11 is to the effect that if a rejected alien is helpless
from sickness, physical disability, or infancy, and is accom-
panied by an alien whose protection is required, both shall
be returned in the usual way.
Section 12 substantially repeats Section 1 of the Act of
March 3, 1893, except that the list or manifest must show,
in addition to the other things, the alien's ''race;" whether
he has fifty (instead of thirty) dollars; whether he is going
to join a relative "or friend," and if so, what relative or
friend and his name and complete address ; whether he was ;
ever in prison or almshouse ''or an institution or hospital
for the care and treatment of the insane;" whether he is an
"anarchist;" and whether he is "coming by reason of any
offer, solicitation, promise, or agreement, expressed or im-
plied," to perform labor, and, if deformed or crippled, "for
how long," as well as from what cause.
Section 13 substantially repeats Section 2 of the Act of ;
March 3, 1893, while Section 14 does likewise for Section 3 I
FEDERAL IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION TO 1914 107
)f the same act. Section 15 imposes, for the failure of
the master or commanding officer of a vessel to deliver
lists or manifests as required, a fine of $10 ''for each alien
concerning whom the above information is not contained in
any list as aforesaid." Sections 16 and 17 relate to the
process of inspection and examination of immigrants.
By Section 18 any owner, officer, agent or person in
charge of a vessel who lands or permits to land an alien at
any time or place other than that designated by the immi-
gration officers is guilty of a misdemeanor, and punishable
3y a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $1,000 for each
alien, or by imprisonment not exceeding a year, or both,
and every alien so landed is to be deported.
Section 19 substantially repeats Section 10 of the Act of
March 3, 1891, with certain regulatory additions. By Sec-
tion 20 ''any alien who shall come into the United States
in violation of law or who shall be found a public charge
therein, from causes existing prior to landing, shall be de-
ported as hereinafter provided to the country whence he
came at any time within two years after his arrival at the
expense, including one-half of the cost of inland transporta-
tion to the port of deportation, of the person bringing such
alien into the United States, or if that cannot be done, then
at the expense of the immigrant fund referred to in Section
1 of this act."
Section 21 contained a similar provision for deportation
of all aliens, with the exception of public charges, found in
the LTnited States, in violation of this act within the period
of three years after landing or entry therein.
By Sections 22 and 23 the Commissioner-General of
Immigration administers the immigration laws, under the
direction of the Secretary of the Treasury.
By Section 24 the appointment of immigration inspectors
and other employees is put under the Civil Service rules.
This section also provides that the decision of an immigra-
tion officer, if favorable to the alien, may be challenged by
any other immigration officer, and in that case the alien is
taken before a board of special inquiry. So. also is every
108 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION ;
alien who may not appear to the inspector to be "clearly f
and beyond a doubt" entitled to land. vi
Section 25 provides for a board of special inquiry at thei ?
various ports of arrival, to consist of three members, such tli
boards to "have authority to determine whether an alien
who has been duly held shall be allowed to land or be de- )
ported.'' Their hearings are "separate and apart from ii'
the public," but they keep records of their proceedings and 'i^
of testimony, "and the decision of any two members of a i ^
board shall prevail and be final," subject to an appeal by \\\
the alien or by a dissenting member to the Secretary of > <
the Treasury, "whose decision shall then be final." j '
Section 26 is similar to Section 7 of the Act of March 3, ';
1893, while Sections 27-32 contain regulatory clauses, some ,
of which were embraced in previous acts.
By Section 33 the words "United States" mean, for the
purpose of the act, "the United States and any waters, ter- i
ritoiy, or other place now subject to the jurisdiction there-
of." By Section 36 the laws relating to the immigration or j
exclusion of Chinese remain unaffected.
Section 37 states that if a person who had taken up his i
permanent residence in the United States, and has declared i
his intention to become a citizen, sends for his wife or I
minor children, and the wife or any of the children is in- '
fected with a contagious disorder, such wife or child, if !
the disease was contracted on the ship, must be held till it
shall be "determined whether the disorder will be easily
curable, or whether they can be permitted to land without
danger to other persons," and meanwhile they are not to 1
be deported.
Finally, by Section 39, anarchists, etc., are not to be nat-
uralized, and are subject to fine and imprisonment for
violation of this provision.
The outstanding provisions in this act were (1) the in-
crease in the number of excluded classes; (2) the special
attention and penalties with respect to prostitutes; (3)
the enlargement of the criminal offenses against the immi-
FEDERAL IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION TO 1914 109
gration acts; (4) the detention and return of aliens here in
violation of the law; and (5) the better inspection of immi-
grants. Concerning the manifests it is worth while to state
that the information in them was and still is given chiefly
from answers by the immigrants to the ship's officers.
Many of the questions seem absurd, for, of course, no one
is likely to admit that he belongs to any of the excluded
classes. Frequently tlie immigrants are thoroughly coached
as to what answers to give to questions before leaving the
port of embarkation, and in other cases they are coached
during the voyage. On inspection, therefore, the answers
do not agree in many instances with the information on the
manifest. In respect to the amount of money the change
may be a truthful one, the immigrant having spent or
gambled it away while on the voyage.
By the act of February 14, IDOS,^"* to establish the De-
partment of Commerce and Labor, the Commissioner-
General of Immigration, the commissioners of immigration,
the bureau of immigration, and the immigration service at
large are transferred to that department, and are placed
under its jurisdiction and supervision.
The Act of March 22, 1904 extended the exemption
from the head tax of two dollars to citizens of Newfound-
land entering the United States. The Act of April 28,
1904 ^^ provided that the words ''Secretary of the Treas-
ury," wherever used in the Act of March 3, 1903, or in
amendments thereto, or in prior acts in relation to alien
immigration, be stricken out, and the words, ''Secretary of
Commerce and Labor" inserted in lieu thereof. In relation
to the enforcement of the immigration laws in the Philip-
pines, the Act of February 6, 1905 stated: "That the
immigration laws of the United States in force in the Phil-
ippine Islands shall be administered by the officers of the
general government thereof designated by an appropriate
legislation of said government, and all moneys collected
"32 Stat. 828-829.
'"SS Stat., part I, p. 144.
^33 Stat., part I, p. 591.
" 33 Stat., part I, p. 692.
110 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
under said laws as duty or head tax on alien immigrants
coming into said islands shall not be covered into the gen-
eral fund of the Treasury of the United States, but shall
be paid into the treasury of said islands to be used and
expended for the government and benefit of said islands."
The Act of February 3, 1905 'Trovided, That the Com-
missioner-General of Immigration, with the approval of
the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, shall have power to
refund head tax heretofore and hereafter collected under
section one of the immigration Act approved March 3, 1903,
upon presentation of evidence showing conclusively that
such collection was erroneously made." While by the Act
of March 4, 1911,^^ these refunds are authorized to be made
only ''upon presentation of evidence showing conclusively
that collection was made through error of Government
officers."
Due to the demand for further regulation and restriction
of alien immigration a number of bills were introduced into
both houses of Congress, which finally resulted in the
passage of the Act of February 20, 1907.^^
By Section 1 the head tax is raised to $4.00 for every
alien entering the United States except ''that the said tax
shall not be levied upon aliens who shall enter the United
States after an uninterrupted residence of at least one year,
immediately preceding such entrance, in the Dominion of
Canada, Newfoundland, the Republic of Cuba, or the Re-
public of Mexico, nor upon otherwise admissible residents
of any possession of the United States, nor upon aliens in
transit through the United States, nor upon aliens who
have been lawfully admitted to the United States and who
later shall go in transit from one part of the United States
to another through foreign contiguous territory." The tax
was not to be levied on aliens arriving in Guam, Porto
Rico, or Hawaii unless they came to the United States
without having become a citizen of the United States.
Power was given to the President, when he "shall be satis-
fied that passports issued by any foreign government to its
33 Stat., part I, p. 684. ^ 36 Stat. 1363, 1442. ^ 34 Stat., p. 898.
FEDERAL IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION TO 1914 111
citizens to go to any country other than the United States
or to any insular possession of the United States or to the
Canal Zone are being used for the purpose of enabling the
holders to come to the continental territory of the United
States to the detriment of labor conditions therein," to re-
fuse to permit such citizens of the country issuing such
passports to enter the United States.
By Section 2 the excluded classes were extended to in-
clude imbeciles; feeble-minded persons; persons afflicted
with tuberculosis; persons not comprehended within any
of the foregoing excluded classes who are found to be men-
tally or physically defective, such mental or physical defect
being of a nature which may affect the ability of the alien
to earn a living; persons who admit having committed
a felony or other crime or misdemeanor involving moral
turpitude; persons who admit their belief in the practice
of polygamy; women or girls coming into the United States
for the purpose of prostitution or for any other immoral
purpose; persons who procure or attempt to bring in pros-
titutes or women or girls for the purpose of prostitution or
for any other immoral purpose; any person whose ticket
or passage is paid for with the money of another, or who
is assisted by others to come, unless it is affirmatively and
satisfactorily shown that said ticket or passage was not
paid for by any corporation, association, society, munici-
pality, or foreign government, either directly or indirectly,
except that this shall not apply to the tickets or passage
of aliens in immediate and continuous transit through the
United States to foreign contiguous territory; and all chil-
dren under sixteen years of age, unaccompanied by one or
both of their parents, at the discretion of the Secretary of
Commerce and Labor or under such regulations as he may
from time to time prescribe.
Section 3 stated that 'Vhoever shall keep, maintain, con-
trol, support or harbor in any house or other place, for the
purpose of prostitution, or for any other immoral purpose,
any alien woman or girl, within three years after she shall
have entered the United States, shall, in every such case,
112
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
be deemed guilty of a felony, and on conviction thereof be
imprisoned not more than five years and pay a fine of not
more than five thousand dollars; and any alien woman or
girl who shaU be found an inmate of a house of prostitution
or practicing prostitution, at any time within three years
after she shall have entered the United States, shall be
deemed to be unlawfully within the United States and shall
be deported/^
Sections 4-9 substantially repeated provisions in the act
of 1903.
By Section 9 a fine of $100 is imposed on any person
bringing in aliens excluded for certain physical disabilities,
if these existed and might have been detected previous to
embarkation.
Section 12 added to the contents of the manifests for
aliens coming into the United States. It also provided
''that it shall further be the duty of the master or com-
manding officer of every vessel taking alien passengers out
of the United States, from any port thereof, to file before
departure therefrom with the collector of customs of such
port a complete list of all such alien passengers taken on
board. Such list shall contain the name, age, sex, nation-
ality, residence in the United States, occupation, and the
time of last arrival of every such alien in the United
States.'^
The next change of any importance in this act occurs in
Sections 20 and 21, which provide that all deportations may
be within three years. Section 25 gives either the alien
or any dissenting member of a board of special inquiry the
right to appeal through the commissioner of immigration
at the port of arrival and the Commissioner-General of
Immigration to the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, ex-
cept in the cases of tuberculosis, loathsome or dangerous
contagious disease, or mental or physical disability, as pre-
viously provided for, in which case the decision of the
board is final.
Section 26 provides that "any alien liable to be excluded
FEDERAL IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION TO 1914 113
because likely to become a public charge or because of
physical disabihty other than tuberculosis, or a loathsome
or dangerous contagious disease, may if otherwise admis-
sible, nevertheless be admitted in the discretion of the Sec-
retary of Commerce and Labor upon the giving of a suitable
and proper bond" against becoming a public charge, the
amount and conditions to be prescribed by the said Secre-
tary.
Section 39 created a joint commission on immigration to
consist of three Senators, three Representatives and three
persons appointed by the President of the United States,
which commission was to study the immigration problem
in all of its phases and report on the same. Authority was
also given to the President to call an international confer-
ence if he deemed it advisable.
Section 40 provided for the establishment of a Division
of Information in the Bureau of Immigration and Naturali-
zation, whose duty shall be ''to promote a beneficial dis-
tribution of aliens admitted into the United States among
the several States desiring immigration."
Section 42 dealt with accommodations on ships for immi-
grant passengers. The last provisions on the subject had
been in the Act of 1882. However, the provisions in section
42 of the Act of 1907 were not adequate nor did they corre-
spond to the facts, hence another law was passed, December
19, 1908, which made our steerage provisions correspond
with the British law on the subject, which was superior to
ours in every way.
We have noted in the above act only those provisions
which made changes of any importance. We find ( 1 ) a fur-
ther extension of the excluded classes; (2) more stringent
provisions designed to better control the evil of prostitu-
tion; (3) an extension to other classes of the fine for bring-
ing in inadmissible aliens; (4) the beginning of permanent
statistics of departing aliens; (5) no appeal permitted from
the decision of a board of special inquiry in case of mental
or physical disability; (6) the creation of the Joint Immi-
114 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
gration Commission; and (7) the creation of the Division
of Information.
The Sundry Civil Appropriation Act of March 4, 1909
repealed the law establishing the immigrant fund, while
another act ''relating to outward alien manifests on vessels
bound to Canada or Mexico/' also approved March 4,
1909/- provided that until the provisions of Section 12 of
the Act of February 20, 1907, "relating to outward alien
manifests, shall be made applicable to passengers going out
of the United States to Canada by land carriage, said pro-
visions shall not apply to passengers going by vessels em-
ployed exclusively in the trade between the ports of the
United States and the Dominion of Canada and the Re-
public of Mexico.'^
The next important addition to our immigration legisla-
tion was the Act of March 26, 1910.^^ It extended the
excluded classes, among which additions was the provision
to keep out ''persons who are supported by or receive in
whole or in part the proceeds of prostitution." The three
year limit for deportation was removed as regards sexually
immoral aliens by the provision that "any alien who shall
be found an inmate of or connected with the management
of a house of prostitution or practicing prostitution after
such alien shall have entered the United States, or who shall
receive, share in, or derive benefit from any part of the
earnings of any prostitute; or who is employed by, in, or
in connection with any house of prostitution or music or
dance hall or other place of amusement or resort habitually
frequented by prostitutes, or where prostitutes gather, or
who in any way assists, protects, or promises to protect
from arrest any prostitute, shall be deemed to be unlaw-
fully within the United States and shall be deported." It
also provided for punishment for attempts to return after
deportation, and for deportation after the expiration of
sentence for violations of this section of the act. The White
Slave Traffic Act is closely connected with this phase of
^^35 Stat. 969.
^35 Stat. 1060.
"36 Stat., p. 263.
*"Junc 25, 1910; 36 Stat. 825.
FEDERAL IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION TO 1914 115
the immigration statutes and undertakes to lessen the
eviL
By the Act of August 24, 1912 it was ^Trovided, That
all charges for maintenance or return of Chinese persons
applying for admission to the United States shall hereafter
be paid or reimbursed to the United States by the person,
company, partnership, or corporation bringing such Chi-
nese to a port of the United States as applicants for ad-
mission."
By the Act of March 4, 1913,^^ creating the Department
of Labor, all the business of immigration and naturaliza-
tion was given to the newly created department, so that
now the Commissioner-General, the commissioners of immi-
gration, the Bureau of Immigration, etc., are subject to the
Secretary of Labor.
Throughout the development of this body of laws well-
marked tendencies can be traced. In the first place, the
criteria of admission have steadily increased in severity,
until in 1914 the law provided for the exclusion of vir-
tually every undesirable class, with the probable exception
of illiterates.^'^ In the second place, there is an increasing
concentration of all business connected with immigration
in the hands of a single branch of the Federal Government.
Third, we find an increasing determination on the part of
the United States to assert its right to protect itself against
unwelcome additions to its population, not only by refusing
them admission, but by expelling them from the country
when we deem it expedient for our own welfare. It is evi-
dent from the laws themselves that bar after bar was put
up as time went on. Not once have we found a provision
which let down a single bar once it had been put up.
Although the early efforts were largely futile, the laws brief
and the machinery inadequate, yet progress was rapid, so
that by 1914 we were in a position to make further, more
drastic and more effective restrictions than ever before.
**37 Stat. 475. *'37 Stat. 736.
*' On March 2, 1897, President Cleveland vetoed a bill which would have
excluded illiterates. On February 14, 1913, President Taft vetoed a similar
bill. See injra, pp. 130-132.
116 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
While the World War delayed the necessity for such legis-
lation yet it was soon evident that it had also crea+ed a
greater necessity than ever before for restrictions more
drastic than any previously dreamed of.
CHAPTER V
Federal Immigration Legislation, 1914-1921
i Recommendations of the Immigration Commission — Public opinion and
I the Hteracy test— The Immigration Act of 1917— Act of December 26, 1920
—The Alien Anarchist Act of 1918-1920— Act of May 10, 1920— Act of
June 5, 1920— Summary.
I In the ''Brief Statement of the Investigations of the Im-
migration Commission, with Conclusions and Recommen-
I dations," ^ we find some interesting facts concerning the
operation of the laws then existing, together with recom-
mendations for future legislation. The commission stated:
"The present emigration from Europe to the United States
is in the largest measure due to economic causes. . . .
The United States Government makes no effort to induce
immigration. . . . The immediate incentive of the great
bulk of present-day immigration is the letters of persons
in this country to relatives or friends at home. ... A large
number of immigrants are induced to come by quasi labor
agents. . . . Another important agency in promoting emi-
i gration from Europe to the United States are the many
thousands of steamship-ticket agents and subagents oper-
ating in the emigrant-furnishing districts of southern and
eastern Europe. . . . While, unfortunately, the present
law, from the difficulty in securing proof, is largely in-
effectual in preventing the coming of criminals and other
moral delinquents, it does effectively debar paupers and the
physically unsound and generally the mentally unsound.
... It is highly desirable both for humanitarian and medi-
cal reasons that aliens who are not admissible to the United
States should be turned back at foreign ports of embarka-
* Reports of the U. S. Immigration Commission, I, 25-49 (1911).
117
118 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
tion, or better still, that they should not leave their homes |
for such ports only to be returned. . . . No adequate means ;
have been adopted for preventing the immigration of crim- ,
inals, prostitutes, and other morally undesirable aliens. In
spite of the stringent law, criminals or moral defectives of
any class, provided they pass the medical inspection, can
usually embark at European ports and enter the United
States without much danger of detection. . . . The coming i
of criminals and persons of criminal tendencies constitutes '
one of the serious social effects of the immigration move- i
ment. The present immigration law is not adequate to '
prevent the immigration of criminals, nor is it sufficiently '
effective as regards the deportation of alien criminals who '
are in this country. . . . The best place to bar alien crim- i
inals is in their own countries, and the best way is through
the utilization of the police records of such countries. . . . i
The immigration of the mentally defective aliens is reason- '
ably well controlled under the existing immigration law. If '
is entirely possible, however, that persons may exhibit no '
evidence of insanity and yet that they may become insane :
within a short time after their admission. Until some i
means can be devised of informing the immigration author- '
ities as to the previous mental history of arriving aliens, '
the present safeguards are practically all that can be af- j
forded. . . . There are probably at the present time rela- !
tively few actual contract laborers admitted. There are
annually admitted, however, a very large number who come '
in response to indirect assurance that employment awaits
them. It is clear that there is a large induced immigration
due to labor agents in this country, who, independently or j
in cooperation with agents in Europe, operate practically
without restriction. As a rule only unskilled laborers are
induced to come to the United States by this means. . . . !
Boards of special inquiry are one of the most, if not the
most, important factor in the administration of the immi-
gration law. ... In justice to the immigrant, and to the
country as well, the character of these boards should be im-
proved. They should be composed of men whose ability and
IFEDERAL IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION, 1914-1921 119
i;raining fit them for the judicial functions performed, and
i:he provision compelling their hearings to be separate
and apart from the public should be repealed. . . .
As a result of the investigation the Commission is unani-
mously of the opinion that in framing legislation emphasis
should be laid upon the following principles:
1. Care should be taken that immigration be such both '
in quality and quantity as not to make too difiicult the
process of assimilation.
2. Further general legislation concerning the admission
of aliens should be based primarily upon economic or busi-
ness considerations touching the prosperity and economic
well-being of our people.
3. The measure of the rational, healthy development of
a country is not the extent of its investment of capital,
its output of products, or its exports and imports, unless
;here is a corresponding economic opportunity afforded to
the citizen dependent upon employment for his material,
mental, and moral development.
4. The development of business may be brought about
by means which lower the standard of living of the wage
earners. A slow expansion of industry which would permit
the adaptation and assimilation of the incoming labor sup-
ply is preferable to a very rapid industrial expansion which
results in immigration of laborers of low standards and
efiiciency, who imperil the American standard of wages and
conditions of employment.
The Commission agrees that:
1. To protect the United States more effectively against
the immigration of criminal and certain other debarred
classes . . .
(a) Aliens convicted of serious crimes within a period of
five years after admission should be deported.
(b) Under the provisions of Section 39 of the immigra-
tion act of February 20, 1907, the President should appoint
commissioners to make arrangements with such countries as
120 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
have adequate police records to supply emigrants with'
copies of such records, and that thereafter immigrants from
such countries should be admitted to the United States only .
upon the production of proper certificates showing an ab-i
sence of convictions for excludable crimes.
(c) So far as practicable the immigration laws should
be so amended as to be applicable to alien seamen.
(d) Any alien who becomes a public charge within three !
years after his arrival in this country should be subject to
deportation in the discretion of the Secretary of Commerce \
and Labor.
2. Sufficient appropriation shoulcf be regularly made to
enforce vigorously the provisions of the laws regarding the
importation of women for immoral purposes.
3. As the new statute relative to steerage conditions took
effect so recently as January 1, 1909, . . . the Commis-
sion's only recommendation in this connection is that a
statute be immediately enacted providing for the placing
of Government officials ... on vessels carrying third-class
or steerage passengers for the enforcement of the law and
the protection of the immigrant.
4. To strengthen the certainty of just and humane
decisions of doubtful cases at ports of entry it is recom-
mended— That section 25 of the immigration act of
1907 be amended to provide that boards of special inquiry
should be appointed by the Secretary of Commerce and
Labor, and that they should be composed of men whose
ability and training qualify them for the performance of
judicial functions; that the provisions compelling their
hearings to be separate and apart from the public should
be repealed, and that the office of an additional Assistant
Secretary of Commerce and Labor to assist in reviewing
such appeals be created.
5. To protect the immigrant against exploitation; to
discourage sending savings abroad; to encourage perma-
y nent residence and naturalization ; and to secure better dis-
tribution of alien immigrants throughout the country . . .
IFEDERAL IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION, 1914-1921 121
(a) The States should enact laws strictly regulating
immigrant banks.
(b) Proper State legislation should be enacted for the
regulation of employment agencies.
(c) Aliens who attempt to persuade immigrants not to
become American citizens should be made subject to de-
portation.
(d) The division of information should be so conducted
as to cooperate with States desiring immigrant settlers;
and information concerning the opportunities for settle-
ment should be brought to the attention of immigrants in
industrial centers who have been here for some time and
who might be thus induced to invest their savings in this
country and become permanent agricultural settlers.
6. One of the provisions of Section 2 of the act of 1907
reads as follows: 'And provided further, That skilled labor
may be imported if labor of like kind unemployed cannot
be found in this country.' . . . Under the law the Secretary
of Commerce and Labor has no authority to determine the
question of the necessity of importing such labor in advance
of the importation, and it is recommended that an amend-
ment to the law be adopted by adding to the clause cited
above a provision to the effect that the question of the
necessity of importing such skilled labor in any particular
instance may be determined by the Secretary of Commerce
and Labor upon the application of any person interested
prior to any action in that direction by such person; such
determination by the Secretary of Commerce and Labor to
be reached after a full hearing and an investigation into the
facts of the case.
8. The investigations of the Commission show an over
supply of unskilled labor in basic industries to an extent
which indicates an over supply of unskilled labor in the
industries of the country as a whole, and therefore demand
legislation which will at the present time restrict the fur-
ther admission of such unskilled labor. It is desirable in
making the restriction that . . .
122
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
(a) A sufficient number be debarred to produce i
marked effect upon the present supply of unskilled labor.
(b) As far as possible the aliens excluded should be those
who come to this country with no intention to become
American citizens or even to maintain a permanent resi-
dence here, but merely to save enough, by the adoption, if
necessary, of low standards of living, to return permanently
to their home country. Such persons are usually men unac-
companied by wives or children.
(c) As far as possible the aliens excluded should also be
those who, by reason of their personal qualities or habits,
would least readily be assimilated or would make the least
desirable citizens.
The following methods of restricting immigration have
been suggested :
f (aj) The exclusion of those unable to read or write in
some language.
(b) The limitation of the number of each race arriving
each year to a certain percentage of the average of that
race arriving during a given period of years.
(c) The exclusion of unskilled laborers unaccompanied
by wives or families.
(d) The limitation of the number of immigrants arriv-
ing annually at any port.
(e) The material increase in the amount of money re-
quired to be in the possession of the immigrant at the port
of arrival.
(f) The material increase of the head tax.
(g) The levy of the head tax so as to make a marked
discrimination in favor of men with families.
All these methods would be effective in one way or an-
other in securing restrictions in a greater or less degree.
"A majority of the Commission favor the reading and writ-
ing test as the most feasible single method of restricting
undesirable immigration."
These recommendations have been considered at such
length due to the fact that until the Commission made its
FEDERAL IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION, 1914-1921 123
report all discussions on the subject of immigration were,
of necessity, based very largely upon conjecture or the
personal observation of individuals, and, far too often,
upon prejudice. But in this report we have a fair analysis
of the situation. The results of the work of the Commis-
sion are evident in the legislation passed since 1914.
The Dillingham-Burnett bill,^ which was based upon the
report of the Immigration Commission, passed both houses
^of Congress by overwhelming majorities, but was vetoed by
President Taft because it contained the reading or literacy
test. The Senate promptly passed the bill over the Presi-
dent's veto by a vote of 72 to 18, but the vote in the House,
213 to 114, lacked by five votes the two-thirds necessary
to override the executive's disapproval. The bill was rein-
troduced in the following Congress in substantially the
same form as before and passed the House by 252 to 126,
and the Senate by 50 to 7, but President Wilson vetoed it
and the House failed to overcome the veto by a narrow
margin of four votes less than the required two-thirds,
which action ended consideration of the matter, for the
House having acted, the veto message did not come before
the Senate.
President Wilson vetoed this measure because it con-
tained the literacy test, which seemed to him to be a radi-
cal departure from the ''traditional" policy of this country.
The only question in his mind was that he was not sure
that the American people wanted to restrict immigration
''by arbitrary tests," and he suggested that the party plat-
forms speak out on the subject.
Yet, since 1896 there had been sixteen recorded votes on
bills embodying the literacy test in one form or another in
either the House or the Senate and each time the measure
passed by more than a majority.^ Three times both the
^ Both Senator Dillingham and Representative Burnett were members of
the Immigration Commission.
'In an address in the Senate, March 16, 1896, Senator Lodge advocated
a literacy test to restrict immigration. Congressional Record, 54th Con-
gress, 1st session, pp. 2817-20. For a history of the literacy test, see H. P.
Fairchild, Quarterly Journal of Economics, XXXI, p. 447. —
124 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
Senate and the House together passed bills containing the-i
provision, which thereby put it before the President for his
signature or veto and in each case it was a veto.* Out of
the 213 members of the House who voted in 1913 to pass
the bill over President Taft's veto more than 160 were
re-elected. Out of the 252 members of the House who
voted in 1914 for the literacy test 185 were returned. The
former was a Republican Congress and the latter a Demo-
cratic one.
It would seem that these activities of Congress simply re-
flected a powerful opinion in favor of further restriction of
immigration. The platforms of the political parties had,
already spoken on the subject. In 1896 the Republican
Party indorsed the literacy test in direct and specific terms,
p without equivocation or evasion when it stated: 'Tor the
j protection of the quality of our American citizenship and of
I the wages of our working-men against the fatal competition
/ of low-priced labor we demand that the immigration laws
/ be thoroughly enforced and so extended as to exclude from
I entrance to the United States those who can neither read
I nor write." The Democratic Party platform of that year
stated : ^'We hold that the most efficient way of protecting
^American labor is to prevent the importation of foreign
^ pauper labor to compete with it in the home market." In
\ 1912 the Republican platform declared: ''We pledge the
\ Republican Party to the enactment of appropriate laws
\ to give relief from the constantly growing evil of induced
] or undesirable immigration which is inimical to the prog-
^ ress and welfare of the people of the United States."
Undaunted by two defeats, Mr. Burnett again presented
the bill at the next session of Congress. Both Houses of
Congress again passed it by large majorities, and President
Wilson again vetoed the measure. However, the. executive
opposition could no longer hold in check the demand for
further restriction, so the veto was overcome by a vote of
*For President Cleveland's veto see U. S. 54th Congress, 2nd Session,
Senate Doc. No. 185. For President Taft's veto see U. S. 62nd Congress,
3d Session, Senate Doc. No. 1087. For President Wilson's first veto see
U. S. 63d Congress, 3d Session, House Doc. No. 1527.
FEDFRAL IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION, 1914-1921 125
287 to 106, or 25 more than the required two-thirds, in
the House, and by a vote of 62 to 19 in the Senate.
The Immigration Act of February 5, 1917, which is still
part of our basic law on immigration, repeals the act of
February 20, 1907, the Act of March 3, 1903, and all prior
acts or parts of acts inconsistent with the new law.
By Section 1 ''the word 'alien' wherever used in this act
shall include any person not a native-born or naturalized
citizen of the United States; but this definition shall not
be held to include Indians of the United States not taxed
or citizens of the islands under the jurisdiction of the United ^
States. . . . That the term 'seamen' as used in this act
shall include every person signed on the ship's articles and
employed in any capacity on board any vessel arriving
in the United States from any foreign port or place."
Section 2 states "That there shall be levied, collected, and
paid a tax of $8 for every alien, including alien seamen
regularly admitted as provided in this act, entering the
United States: Provided, That children under sixteen
years of age who accompany their father or their mother
shall not be subject to said tax." In the Act of 1907 the
tax was $4 on every alien without reference to age. In
making this change in the law Congress adopted the sug->
gestion of the Immigration Commission to adjust the head
tax so as to make a marked discrimination in favor of men
with families. The other provisions in this section which
relate to exemptions, payment, etc., are substantially the
same as those in the Act of 1907.^
Section 3 enlarges the excluded classes to include "persons
of constitutional psychopathic inferiority; persons with
chronic alcoholism; vagrants; persons who have come in
consequence of advertisements for laborers printed, pub-
lished, or (distributed in ^ foreign country; contract labor-
ers, . . . whether such offers or promises are true or
false . . . ; (and) stowaways, except that any such stow-
away, if otherwise admissible, may be admitted in the dis-
'In this discussion we shall note only the changes made by the Act of
1917.
126 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
cretion of ihe Secretary of Labor." The provision concern-
ing the exclusion of anarchists was elaborated as follows:
''anarchists, or persons who believe in or advocate the over-
throw by force or violence of the Government of the United
States, or of all forms of law, or who disbelieve in or are
opposed to organized government, or who advocate the
assassination of public officials, or who advocate or teach
the unlawful destruction of property; persons who are
members of or affiliated with any organization entertain-
ing and teaching disbelief in or opposition to organized
government, or who advocate or teach the duty, necessity,
or propriety of the unlawful assaulting or killing of any
officer or officers, either of specific individuals or of officers
generally, of the Government of the United States or of
any other organized government, because of his or their
official character, or who advocate or teach the unlawful
destruction of property." The exclusion of ''persons likely
to become a public charge," was shifted from its position
in section 2 of the immigration act of 1907 to a new position
in section 3 of this act in order to indicate the intention
of Congress that aliens shall be excluded upon said ground
for economic as well as other reasons and with a view to
overcoming the decision of the Supreme Court in Gegiow
V. Uhl.^ In the Act of 1907 this class appeared between
paupers and professional beggars in the list of excluded
classes. Immigration officials had begun to consider cir-
cumstances not directly connected with the alien in deter-
mining whether he was likely to become a public charge if
admitted. Under this interpretation persons were excluded
because poor economic conditions existed in the locality to
which they were destined, or even because of racial feeling
against the alien in question, the theory being that if aliens
could not get employment there they would necessarily
become public charges.
A group of Russian Ossetins, a Caucasus Mountain
people, who came to New York, destined to Portland, Ore-
gon, were denied admission as persons likely to become a
*239 U. S. 3 (1915).
FEDERAL IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION, 1914-1921 127
public charge due chiefly to the poor industrial conditions
existing in Portland at that time which would surely make
it impossible for them to find employment there. The
Supreme Court held, however, that aliens could be ex-
cluded as ''likely to become a public charge" only ''on the
ground of permanent personal objections accompanying
them irrespective of local conditions." The court held that
"persons likely to become a pubhc charge" were to be con-
sidered as generally similar to and therefore not liable to
different treatment than that accorded beggars, paupers,
idiots, etc., since they were mentioned with such classes.
The court held that the Statute "deals with admission
to the United States, not to Portland." It was to over-
come this decision of the Supreme Court that the change
in the position of this clause was made, although Congress
refused to adopt the statement, "persons likely for any
reason to become a public charge."
Several other changes were also made in the phrase-
ology of the old law respecting excluded classes. The Act
of 1907 excluded "insane persons, and persons who have
been insane within five years" and also "persons who have
had two or more attacks of insanity at any time previously,"
while this section simply reads "insane persons (and) per-
sons who have had one or more attacks of insanity at any
time previously." It is obvious that this is a more stringent
provision with regard to the admission of insane persons, or
those liable to become insane, than the former provisions
on the subject. The Act of 1907 excluded "polygamists
or persons who admit their belief in the practice of polyg-
amy," while this law excludes "polygamists or persons
who practice polygamy or believe in or advocate the prac-
tice of polygamy." Again, "persons afflicted with tubercu-
losis" in the former act is made to read "persons afflicted
with tuberculosis in any form," in this Act of 1917. The
former law excluded "women and girls coming into the
United States for the purpose of prostitution or for any
'See Wallis v. U. S. ex rel. Mannara, 273 Fed. Rep. 509 (1921) for a more
recent definition of "persons likely to become a public charge."
128 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
other immoral purpose," while in this act the prohibition
applies to all ''persons," so that men as well as women and
girls are excluded.
The so called latitude and longitude clause — which is
indeed an ''arbitrary" test, closed the door against virtually
V all Asiatic immigration not already barred by the Chinese
Exclusion Law and Treaty and the "Gentlemen's Agree-
ment" with Japan, which has since been legislated out of
existence by the Act of 1924. This clause states: "Unless
otherwise provided for by existing treaties, persons who are
natives of islands not possessed by the United States adja-
cent to the continent of Asia, situate south of the twentieth
parallel latitude north, west of the one hundred and sixtieth
meridian of longitude east from Greenwich, and north of
the tenth parallel of latitude south, or who are natives
of any country, province, or dependency situated on the
continent of Asia west of the one hundred and tenth
meridian of longitude east from Greenwich and east of
the fiftieth meridian of longitude east from Greenwich and
south of the fiftieth parallel latitude north, except that por-
tion of said territory situate between the fiftieth and the
sixty-fourth meridian of longitude east from Greenwich
and the twenty-fourth and thirty-eighth parallels of lati-
tude north, and no alien now in any way excluded from, or
prevented from entering, the United States shall be ad-
mitted to the United States. The provision next fore-
going, however, shall not apply to persons of the following
status or occupations: Government officers, ministers or
religious teachers, missionaries, lawyers, physicians, chem-
ists, civil engineers, teachers, students, authors, artists,
merchants, and travelers for curiosity or pleasure, nor to
their legal wives or their children under sixteen years of
age who shall accompany them or who subsequently may
apply for admission to the United States, but such persons
or their legal wives or foreign-born children who fail to
maintain in the United States a status or occupation plac-
ing them within the excepted classes shall be deemed to
be in the United States contrary to law, and shall be sub-
130
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
ject to deportation as provided in section nineteen of this j
act;'
The countries included within this restricted area are
India, Siam, Indo-China, Afghanistan, parts of Russian I
Turkestan and Arabia on the continent of Asia, and New
Guinea, Borneo, Sumatra, and Java as well as many lesser
islands. Chinese are excluded by the Chinese Exclusion
Law, while the Japanese were exempt until July 1, 1924
under the ^^Gentlemen's Agreement." This latitude and
longitude plan resulted from the objections of the Japanese
Government to a clause excluding persons not eligible to.
American citizenship through naturalization. Every gen--
eral immigration bill since 1911 included such a clause, but
it was always eliminated prior to the Act of 1924. The
effect of this latitude and longitude clause has been to
cut off any possible immigration of east Indians or Hindus
to our Pacific Coast, a result made all the more possible
by Canada's drastic policy of exclusion of the same classes.
However, the most important addition to the excluded
classes w^as the one which had caused three Presidential
vetoes, — the exclusion of all who can not read under a
literacy test. The law stated: 'That after three months
from the passage of this act, in addition to the aliens who
are by law now excluded from admission into the United
States, the following persons shall also be excluded from ad-
-Mission thereto, to wit :
^ All aliens over sixteen years of age, physically capable
of reading, who can not read the English language, or some
other language or dialect, including Hebrew or Yiddish:
Provided, That any admissible alien, or any alien heretofore
or hereafter legally admitted, or any citizen of the United
States, may bring in or send for his father or grandfather
over fifty-five years of age, his wife, his mother, his grand-
mother, or his unmarried or widowed daughter, if other-
wise admissible, whether such relative can read or not; and
such relative shall be permitted to enter. That for the
purpose of ascertaining whether aliens can read the immi-
grant inspectors shall be furnished with slips of uniform
FEDERAL IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION, 1914-1921 131
size, prepared under the direction of the Secretary of Labor,
each containing not less than thirty nor more than forty
words in ordinary use, printed in plainly legible type in
some one of the various languages or dialects of immigrants.
Each alien may designate the particular language or dialect
in which he desires the examination to be made, and shall
be required to read the words printed on the slip in such
language or dialect. That the following classes of persons
shall be exempt from the operation of the literacy test, to
wit: All aliens who shall prove to the satisfaction of the
proper immigration officer or to the Secretary of Labor that
they are seeking admission to the United States to avoid
religious persecution in the country of their last permanent
residence, whether such persecution be evidenced by overt
acts or by laws or governmental regulations that discrimi-
nate against the alien or the race to which he belongs be-
cause of his religious faith; all aliens who have been law-
fully admitted to the United States and who have resided
therein continuously for five years and who return to the
United States within six months from the date of their
departure therefrom; all aliens in transit through the
United States; all aliens who have been lawfully admitted
to the United States and who later shall go in transit from
one part of the United States to another through foreign
contiguous territory."
It is to be noted that this test is so simple it would
seem that almost anyone can fit himself to meet it in a
^ short time if he so desires.^ In fact, many critics consider
the test a big joke. Another weakness or difficulty with it
^ is that it is qualitative and fixed no numerical limit to im-
migration. In 1922, there were admitted 234,623 immi-
grants who could read and write; 1,476 who could read but
could not write; and 10,743 who could neither read nor
write, while only 1,249 were debarred under the literacy
^ test, 384 of whom were Mexicans. In 1923 the number
'Such books as MacLean, Modern Immigration, and Jenks and Lauck,
The Immigration Problem, discuss the relative merits of a literacy test.
See especially, Warne, The Tide of Immigration, and Fairchild, The Lit-
eracy Test and Its Making.
132
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
admitted who could read and write was 419,189; who could
read but could not write, 558; and who could neither read
nor write, 11,356. Those debarred numbered 2,095, of
whom 602 were Mexicans, 672 Finns and 118 (South)
Italians. It is obvious from these figures that no great
numerical restriction has been brought about by this pro-
vision.^ It is impossible to state how many more would
come but for this restriction who never leave for the United
States knowing they cannot gain admission due to their
illiteracy. In 1914 the total immigration was 1,218,480,
of which 260,152 or 21.4 percent were illiterates 14 years of
age and over, from which figures it would seem that the
law does keep many from trying to gain admittance. How-
ever, it has great potential value today against at least
one particular country against which it would seem we
need further restriction. The percentage or quota law does
not apply to Mexico. The result is that many Mexican
laborers are entering the United States each year to re-
place the supply of cheap European labor which has been
cut off by the quota provisions, some of whom come in in
violation of the contract labor law, a practice which is
difficult to stop. However, many of them are illiterate
and are subject to exclusion under the literacy test. If
this provision were properly enforced against these Mexi-
can laborers many of them would thus be excluded. Here
seems to be the most important work today to be done
under the literacy provision and this gives it great potential
value.
Sections 5-7 deal with contract labor, induced immigra-
tion and solicitation of immigration by transportation com-
panies. The former law against the importation of labor
under contract is amended so as to provide for the exclusion
of laborers coming by reason of false, as well as true,
promise of employment. The exception to the contract
labor law that skilled labor may be imported ^^if labor of
like kind unemployed cannot be found in this country"
"See Annual Reports of the Commissioner-General of Immigration for
such annual statistics.
I
FEDERAL IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION, 1914-1921 133
was amended to read in addition, "and the question of
necessity of importing such skilled labor in any particular
instance may be determined by the Secretary of Labor upon
! the application of any person interested, such application
i to be made before such importation, and such determina-
tion by the Secretary of Labor to be reached after a full
hearing and an investigation into the facts of the case."
^ Under the previous law the necessity could not be deter-
mined prior to the arrival of the imported laborers at a
United States port. The law added nurses to the exempt
i professional classes. It also provided that violators of
^ the law concerning contract laborers, induced immigra-
tion and solicitation of immigration by steamship com-
j panics, etc., ''shall be subject to either the civil or the
criminal prosecution, or both, prescribed by section five of
this act," which made violators subject to a fine of $1,000
and imprisonment for a term of not less than six months
nor more than two years. Even more important is the
authority given to the Secretary of Labor to impose an
administrative fine of $400 "for each and every such viola-
tion," and "whenever it shall be shown to the satisfaction
of the Secretary of Labor that the provisions of this sec-
tion are persistently violated by or on behalf of any trans-
portation company, it shall be the duty of said Secretary to
deny to such company the privilege of landing alien immi-
grant passengers of any or all classes at United States ports
for such a period as in his judgment may be necessary to
insure an observance of such provisions" against the stimu-
lation of immigration by such transportation companies.
Section 11a provided for the placing of Government
officials, both men and women, on board ships bringing
immigrants to the United States, the purpose stated being
the enforcement of the law and the protection of the im-
migrants. The law stated: "When such inspectors and
matrons are detailed for said duty they shall remain in
that part of the vessel where immigrant passengers are
carried; and it shall be their duty to observe such pas-
sengers during the voyage and report to the immigration
134 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
authorities in charge at the port of landing any informa-
tion of value in determining the admissibility of such pas-
sengers that may have become known to them during the
voyage." This provision resulted from one of the recom-
mendations of the Immigration Commission, which was
prompted by the findings of the agents of the Commission
who traveled in the guise of immigrants in the steerage of a
number of trans-Atlantic ships and both observed and
experienced the hardships and indignities to which immi-
grants were subjected on some of the lines.
Section 12 added a number of topics to the manifests
concerning which information must be given for immigrants
entering and departing from the United States and for
citizens of the United States "departing who do not in-
tend to reside permanently in a foreign country.'^
Section 16 expands the details concerning the physical
and mental examination of all arriving aliens, among which
provisions we find that "immigration inspectors are hereby
authorized and empowered to board and search for aliens
any vessel, railway car, or any other conveyance, or vehicle
in which they believe aliens are being brought into the
United States.". . . "All aliens coming to the United States
shall be required to state under oath the purposes for which
they come, the length of time they intend to remain in the
United States, whether or not they intend to abide in the
United States permanently and become citizens thereof,
and such other items of information regarding themselves
as will aid the immigration officials in determining whether
they belong to any of the excluded classes enumerated in
section three hereof."
In Section 17 it was provided that all hearings before
the boards of special inquiry shall be separate and apart
from the public, "but the immigrant may have one friend
or relative present under such regulations as may be pre-
scribed by the Secretary of Labor."
Section 19 makes a radical change in the policy of the
government concerning the deportation of aliens on account
of crimes committed after landing in the United States.
FEDERAL IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION, 1914-1921 135
Previous to this there were no provisions concerning de-
portation except in the cases of prostitution and related
offenses. The law states: 'That at any time within five
years after entry, any alien who at the time of entry was
a member of one or more of the classes excluded by law;
any alien who shall have entered or who shall be found in
the United States in violation of this Act, or in violation
of any other law of the United States any alien who at
any time after entry shall be found advocating or teaching
the unlawful destruction of property, or advocating or
teaching anarchy, or the overthrow by force or violence
of the Government of the United States or of all forms of
law or the assassination of public officials; any alien who
within five years after entry becomes a public charge from
causes not affirmatively shown to have arisen subsequent
to landing; except as hereinafter provided, any alien who is
hereafter sentenced to imprisonment for a term of one year
or more because of conviction in this country of a crime in-
volving moral turpitude, committed within five years after
the entry of the alien to the United States, or who is here-
after sentenced more than once to such a term of imprison-
ment because of conviction in this country of any crime
involving moral turpitude, committed at any time after
entry . . . shall, upon the warrant of the Secretary of
Labor, be taken into custody and deported: Provided,
That the marriage to an American citizen^^ of a female of
the sexually immoral classes the exclusion or deportation
of which is prescribed by this act shall not invest such
female with United States citizenship if the marriage of
such alien female shall be solemnized after her arrest or
after the commission of acts which make her liable to de-
portation under this Act."
''"The latter part of this provision relates to Chinese entering or found
in the United States in violation of the Chinese Exclusion Laws.
"This provision has proved highly unsatisfactory due to its vague
meaning.
^ This provision is now rendered superfluous by the Act of Sept. 22, 1922,
since the foreign woman does not now acquire American citizenship ipso
facto by marriage to an American citizen. See article by C. D. Hill, "Citi-
zenship of Married Women," Amer. Jour, oj Intertiational Law, Vol. 18,
pp. 720-736 (1924). Also see infra, pp. 176-177.
136 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
Deportation is not to be made if a criminal is pardone(
or if the court imposing sentence makes a recommendatioi
that deportation shall not be made. The proviso quotec i
above is another important addition to the law respect
ing the immoral classes. The law was also strengthenec
against such classes when the former wording 'Vomen an(
girls coming into the United States for the purpose oj
prostitution, etc./' was changed to ''persons."
Sections 31-36 undertake to close up an avenue through
which many aliens were illegally entering the United States.
Section 31 provides 'That any person, including the owner,
agent, consignee, or master of any vessel arriving in the
United States from any foreign port or place, who shall
knowingly sign on the ship's articles, or bring to the United
States as one of the crew of such vessel, any alien, witli
intent to permit such alien to land in the United States in
violation of the laws and treaties of the United States regu-
lating the immigration of aliens, or who shall falsely and
knowingly represent to the immigration authorities at the
port of arrival that any such alien is a bona fide member of
the crew, shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding $5,000."
Section 32 provides that "no alien excluded from admis-
sion into the United States. . . . and employed on board
any vessel arriving in the United States from any foreign
port or place, shall be permitted to land in the United
States, except temporarily for medical treatment or pur-
suant to regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Labor
providing for the ultimate removal or deportation of such
alien from the United States." The master, owner, agent
or consignee is subject to a fine of $1,000 if he fails to detain
any such alien on board.
Section 33 declares "That it shall be unlawful and be
deemed a violation of the preceding section to pay off or
discharge any alien employed on board any vessel arriving
in the United States from any foreign port or place, unless
duly admitted pursuant to the laws and treaties of the
United States regulating the immigration of aliens: Pro-
FEDERAL IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION, 1914-1921 137
Oft i^ided, That in case any such alien intends to reship on
board any other vessel bound to any foreign port or place,
he shall be allowed to land for the purpose of so reshipping,
lunder such regulations as the Secretary of Labor may pre-
scribe to prevent aliens not admissible . . . from remaining
jpermanently in the United States."
I Section 34 states 'That any alien seaman who shall
land in a port of the United States contrary to the pro-
visions of this act shall be deemed to be unlawfully in the
'United States, and shall, at any time within three years
1 thereafter, upon the warrant of the Secretary of Labor be
taken into custody and brought before a board of special
inquiry for examination as to his qualifications for admis-
I sion to the United States, and if not admitted said alien sea-
man shall be deported."
Sections 35 and 36 provide further restrictions to control
the problem arising from the illegal entrance of aliens as v
seamen. The latter section requires a list containing
among other information, the names of all aliens employed
on all vessels coming into and departing from any port in
the United States.
The Act of 1917 makes a far wider use of the administra-
tive fine than the former laws. It also increases it from
I $100 to $200. This fine or penalty, which is imposed by the
I Secretary of Labor on steamship companies, etc., is a very
important factor in preventing such companies from bring-
ing excluded persons to the United States. This act also
imposes another heavy penalty in all cases which are sub-
ject to an administrative fine, for it provides that in addi-
tion to the regular penalty, the steamship company con-
cerned shall be assessed an amount equal to that paid by
each alien of the classes named for his transportation from
the initial point of his departure for the United States,
which amount is to be paid to the debarred alien by a
United States official.
Section 38 provided that the Act should go into effect on
and after May 1, 1917, except the literacy test, which be-
138
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
came operative on May 5, 1917. Such then are the im
portant additions made to our immigration laws by th(
Act of 1917. In excluding illiterates, Asiatics and alien: '
r entering illegally as seamen, in addition to the exclusior
] of other new classes, together with strengthening pro
i visions for the exclusion of certain classes already pro-
hibited, the law was made more stringent than ever be-
' fore.
An act of December 26, 1920 which provided "for the
treatment in hospitals of diseased alien seamen," placed
all expenses connected therewith upon the owner, agent,
consignee, or master of the vessel and stated that such ex-
penses are not to be deducted from the seaman's wages.
An Act approved October 16, 1918 as amended by the
Act approved June 5, 1920, which was "An act to exclude
and expel from the United States aliens who are members
of the anarchistic and similar classes," provided: "That the
following aliens shall be excluded from admission into the
United States:
(a) Aliens who are anarchists; ^
(b) Aliens who advise, advocate, or teach, or who are
members of or affiliated with any organization, association,
society or group, that advises, advocates, or teaches, oppo-
sition to all organized governments;
(c) Aliens who believe in, advise, advocate, or teach,
or who are members of, or affiliated with any organization,
association, society, or group, that believes in, advises,
advocates, or teaches: (1) the overthrow by force or
violence of the Government of the United States or of
all forms of law, or (2) the duty, necessity, or propriety
of the unlawful assaulting or killing of any officer or officers,
either of specific individuals or of officers generally, of the
Government of the United States or of any other organized
government, because of his or their official character, or
(3) the unlawful damage, injury, or destruction of property,
or (4) Sabotage ;^^
"Soc United States ex rel. Diamond v. Uhl, 266 Federal Reporter 35
(1920) for a case involving the advocacy of assassination and of unlawful
FEDERAL IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION, 1914-191: 1 139
(d) Aliens who write, publish, or cause to be written
or pubUshed, or who knowingly circulate, distribute, print,
or display, or knowingly cause to be circulated, distributed,
printed, published, or displayed, or who knowingly have
in their possession for the purpose of circulation, distribu-
tion, publication, or display, any written or printed matter,
advising, advocating, or teaching opposition to all organized
government, or advising, advocating, or teaching: (1) the
joverthrow by force or violence of the Government of the
lUnited States or of all forms of law, or (2) the duty, neces-
sity, or propriety of the unlawful assaulting or killing of any
officer or officers of the Government of the United States
or of any other organized government, or (3) the unlawful
damage, injury, or destruction of property, cr (4) Sabotage;
(e) Aliens who are members of or affiliated with any
organization, association, society, or group, that writes,
circulates, distributes, prints, publishes, or displays, or
causes to be written, circulated, distributed, printed, pub-
lished, or displayed, or that has in its possession for the
I purpose of circulation, distribution, publication, issue, or
display, any written or printed matter of the character
in subdivision (d).
For the purpose of this section: (1) the giving, loaning,
or promising of money or anything of value to be used for
the advising, advocacy, or teaching of any doctrine above
enumerated shall constitute the advising, advocacy, or
teaching of such doctrine; and (2) the giving, loaning, or
promising of money or anything of value to any organiza-
I tion, association, society, or group of the character above
described shall constitute affiliation therewith."
i Section 2 provides that ''the provisions of this section
I shall be applicable to the classes of aliens mentioned in this
act irrespective of the time of their entry into the United
States," and it provides for the deportation of such.
Section 3 declared it to be a felony for any alien to enter
or attempt to enter the United States after once being
destruction of property during a strike. The court affirmed the order of
deprr nt'rn.
140 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
excluded, subject to imprisonment for not more than five
years and to deportation agam.
The details of this law have been given in full for a two- ^
fold purpose: first, the law goes about as far as it is possible
^ to go in providing for the exclusion of radical aliens. Under
it, our country could be purged of every such alien if
the law were properly enforced; and second, to indicate
clearly that there is a law for such deportations. Just after
the passage of this act, many protests were voiced against
the deportations then being made.^^
A joint resolution authorizing the readmission to the
\ United States of certain aliens who had been conscripted
or had volunteered for service with the military forces of
the United States or cobelligerent forces was approved
October 19, 1918. Its provision permitting the readmis-
sion of these aliens, who would otherwise be excluded, ''if
it is proved that the disability was acquired while the alien
was serving in the military or naval forces of the United Ijl
States or of any one of the nations cobelligerent of the
United States," was proper and was designed to prevent ,
obvious injustice to such persons.^^ / |j
The Act of May 10, 1920 provides further for the de-i|
portation of certain undesirable aliens and denies readmis-.
sion to those deported, who violate certain acts of the!
United States which are designated in this act. The Act
of June 5, 1920 providing for the admission of certain female |
aliens stated : "That an alien who cannot read may, if other- I
wise admissible, be admitted if, within five years after this '
act becomes law, a citizen of the United States who has
served in the military or naval forces of the United States
during the war with the Imperial German Government, j
"As to what constitutes a "fair hearing" see Whitfield, Immigrant In-
spector, et al. V. Hanges et al., 222 Federal Reporter 745 (1915). As to
the finality of decisions by Immigration Authorities see U. S. ex rel.
Barlin v. Rodgers, 191 Federal Reporter 973 (1911). For protests against !
such deportations, see Chafee, Freedom of Speech (1920); Panunzio, C. M., i
The Deportation Cases of 1019-1920 (1921); Post, L. F., The Deportation
Delirium of 1920 (1923); "Investigation of L. F. Post on Deportations," i
House Committee on Rules, 66th Cong., 2d Ses., on H. R. 522; Stephenson, |i
G. M., History of American Immigration, Ch. XIV (1926),
" Also see Act of May 26, 1926, infra, p. 172, note 3.
FEDERAL IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION, 1914-1921 141
requests that such alien be admitted, and with the approval
of the Secretary of Labor, marries such alien at a United
States Immigration station."
Such then were the various restrictions on immigra-
Ition in existence in the United States prior to the Quota
Act of May 19, 1921, as amended by the Act of May 11,
1922. It is worth while to note again, that since the be-
ginning of Federal legislation bar after bar has been put
up, restriction after restriction has been created — with
not a single step backward. Yet all of these restrictions
so far have been qualitative. Before 1910 it was evident
that some numerical restrictions would be necessary to stem
the ever-swelling tide, in addition to the existing qualita-
tive restrictions. Action was delayed, however, until the
Immigration Commission could report and then before
any legislation could be passed, the World War suddenly
and virtually stopped all immigration to the United States.
Yet that very war, in the long run, necessitated some plan
for numerical restriction to an even greater extent than
was the case prior to 1914. In the next two chapters we
shall analyze first the emergency legislation that was en-
acted, and then the Act of 1924, in each of which was in-
corporated a plan for numerical restriction.
CHAPTER VI
The Emergency Quota Legislation, 1921-1924
Purpose of the Act of May 19, 1921— Provisions of the act — The first year
of its operation — Problems created by it — Its life extended for two years by
the Act of May 11, 1922 — The second year under the law — The third year
under the law — Effects on the old and new immigration — Net immigration
into the United States — Immigration by races or peoples — English-speaking
immigrants — Conclusion.
The immigration act of May 19, 1921 was passed as a
makeshift, temporary, emergency measure to stem the tide
of those unfortunates of Europe who desired to come into
this so-called ''Land of Promise," in order to escape the
misery and burdens which they inherited from the war.
805,228 had already come in the preceding year and mil-
lions were preparing to depart from their native lands.^
It was evident that fully two millions would be willing and
able to come each year for several years against which the
literacy and other tests would afford only a frail barrier.
Here was an emergency. There was little or no time for
an intelligent and historical study of the question. It
would take several years to do that; but in the meantime
drastic numerical or quantitative restrictions were neces-
sary. The quota act of May 19, 1921, whose life was ex-
tended by the act of May 11, 1922 to July 1, 1924 pro-
vided for a quantitative limitation, which thereby gave
Congress the opportunity to work out a more permanent
plan for numerical restriction.
Section 2(a) provided, 'That the number of aliens o'f
any nationality^ who may be admitted under the immigra-
*This statement is based on various reports made by government offi-
cials, including those of the Commissioner-General of Immigration. In an
address before the Chicago Association of Commerce, June 1, 1927, Senator
Reed of Pennsylvania stated that there are now more than 1,500,000
foreigners seeking to enter the United States; this number having already
filed applications at our consulates abroad.
* See article by Dickinson, E. D., "The Meaning of Nationality in the
Recent Immigration Acts," American Journal of International Law, Vol.
19 (1925), pp. 344-347.
142
EMERGENCY QUOTA LEGISLATION, 1921-1924 143
tion laws to the United States in any fiscal year shall be
1 limited to 3 per centum of the number of foreign-born per-
sons of such nationality resident in the United States as
determined by the United States census of 1910. This pro-
vision shall not apply to the following, and they shall not
be counted in reckoning any of the percentage limits pro-
vided in this act: (1) Government officials, their families,
attendants, servants, and employees; (2) aliens in con-
tinuous transit through the United States; (3) aliens law-
fully admitted to the United States who later go in transit
from one part of the United States to another through
foreign contiguous territory; (4) aliens visiting the United
States as tourists or temporarily for business or pleasure;
(5) aliens from countries immigration from which is regu-
lated in accordance with treaties or agreements relating
solely to immigration; (6) aliens from the so-called Asiatic
barred zone, as described in section three of the Immigra-
tion Act; (7) aliens who have resided continuously for at
least five years immediately preceding the time of their ap-
plication for admission to the United States in the Dominion
of Canada, Newfoundland, the Republic of Cuba, the Re-
public of Mexico, countries of Central and South America,
or adjacent islands; or (8) aliens under the age of eighteen
who are children of citizens of the United States."
^'(b) For the purpose of this Act nationality shall be
determined by country of birth. . .
(c) This subdivision provided the manner in which the
law was to be put into operation and how conditions re-
sulting from changed boundaries were to be dealt with.
"(d) When the maximum number of aliens of any nation-
ality who may be admitted in any fiscal year under this
Act shall have been admitted all other aliens of such
nationality, except as otherwise provided in this Act, who
may apply for admission during the same fiscal year shall
be excluded; Provided, That the number of aliens of any
nationality who may be admitted in any month shall not
exceed 20 per centum of the total number of aliens of such
nationality who are admissible in that fiscal year : Provided
144
EMERGENCY QUOTA LEGISLATION, 1921-1924 145
further, That aliens returning from a temporary visit
abroad, aliens who are professional actors, artists, lecturers,
singers, nurses, ministers of any religious denomination,
professors for colleges or seminaries, aliens belonging to any
recognized learned profession, or aliens employed as do-
mestic servants, may, if otherwise admissible, be admitted
notwithstanding the maximum number of aliens of the same
nationality admissible in the same month or fiscal year, as
the case may be, shall have entered the United States; but
aliens of the classes included in this proviso who enter the
United States before such maximum number shall have
entered shall (unless excluded by subdivision (a) from
being counted) be counted in reckoning the percentage
limits provided in this Act: Provided further. That in the
enforcement of this Act preference shall be given so far as
possible to the wives, parents, brothers, sisters, children
under eighteen years of age, and fiancees, (1) of citizens
of the United States, (2) of aliens now in the United States
who have applied for citizenship in the manner provided
by law, or (3) of persons eligible to United States citizen-
ship who served in the military or naval forces of the
United States at any time between April 6, 1917, and
November 11, 1918, both dates inclusive, and have been
separated from such forces under honorable conditions."
Section 3 provided for the publication by the Commis-
sioner-General of Immigration of a statement showing the
annual and monthly quotas of each nation, and 'Vhen 75
per centum of the maximum number of any nationality
admissible during the fiscal year shall have been admitted
such statements shall be issued weekly thereafter."
Section 4 stated ''That the provisions of this Act are in
addition to and not in substitution for the provisions of
the immigration laws."
Section 6 provided that it shall be unlawful for any person
to bring into the United States any alien not admissible
under the terms of this Act or regulations made there-
under, subject to a fine of $200 for each alien so brought,
''and in addition a sum equal to that paid by such alien
146 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
for his transportation from the initial point of departure,
indicated in his ticket, to the port of arrival, such latter
sum to be delivered by the collector of customs to the alien
on whose account assessed." The original act imposed no
penalty for its excess of quota, the above penalties being
provided by the joint resolution approved May 11, 1922,
and it is certain that a considerable part of the difficulties
which arose during the first year of the law's history would
have been avoided had violations of the law resulted in
monetary loss to the carriers concerned.
Under the original act aliens were exempt from the
quota provisions after one year's residence in a country of
the New World, but as amended a five year's residence
was required, due to the fact that several thousand
Europeans, who because of quota limitations and other
obstacles could not come to the United States, emigrated
to Cuba, Mexico, and South America with the obvious
intention of coming here at the expiration of one year.
The law, however, did not prohibit the entrance of such
aliens within five years but only provided that they should
be subject to the quota and other immigration law^ if they
applied for admission within that period.
In effect the law applied only to immigration from
Europe, Siberia, Persia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, the
territory formerly comprising Asiatic Turkey, and certain
islands in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, which is also
true of the present quota law.
The statistical record of operations under the quota
law for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1922, is shown in the
table on page 147.
During the fiscal year 1921-1922, there were 309,556 im-
migrant aliens admitted, being less than the number for
the fiscal year 1921 by 495,672. During this same period
122,949 non-immigrant ahens, viz., those not coming for
permanent residence, entered, as compared with 172,935
the year previous, — a decrease of 49,986. During the year
13,731 aliens were rejected for all causes, a decrease from
the prercding year of only 48, and 4,345 were arrested after
\
EMERGENCY QUOTA LEGISLATION, 1921-1924 147
Table 1 — Immigration of Aliens into the United States Under the
Per Centum Limit Act of May 19, 1921, during the Fiscal Year 1921-22
Country or place oi birtn.
1 otal ad-
missible
during
fiscal year
Number
admitted
and
charged
to quota
during
tne tiscal
year
1921-22
Per cent
of quota
admitted
Albania
288
280
97
Austria
7,451
4,797
64.4
Rplffium . . .
1,563
1,581
101.2
Bulgaria
302
301
99.6
1 A OOO
no o
yy.o
Danzig
301
85
28.2
Denmark . . . .
5,694
3,284
57.6
Finland
3^921
3^038
77.5
Flume
71
18
25.3
France
5,729
4,343
75^9
Germany
68'059
19,053
28
Greece . . .
3'294
3^447
104.7
Hungary
5!638
6!035
107.2
Italy
42,057
42^149
100.2
Luxemburg
92
93
101.1
Netherlands
3,607
2,408
66.8
Norway
12^202
5,941
48.7
Poland (includinf eastern Galicia)
25^827
26^129
101.1
Portugal (including Azores and Madeira
Islands)
2,520
2,486
98.6
Rumania
7,419
7^429
100.1
T?iis«;ia finflndino' Sihpria^
34'284
28,908
84.4
Spain
912
888
97.4
Swpdpn
20,042
8,766
43.8
Switzerland
3,752
3,723
99.2
TTnitpd TCiriffdnm
77^342
42'670
55.2
Yugoslavia
6^426
6^644
103.5
Other Europe (including Andorra, Gibraltar,
T ,ippV>tpn>;tpin TV/Tnlffi IVTpmpl TVTnnnpn S'ln
XJlCV^ll iJdlo LCI J-A, l.\±CXx\jCXt XVJ-dlld, XtJ.vJ11CX\-/\_/, kJcLll
IVTfirinn nnrl TfPinnH^
86
144
167.4
1,589
1,574
99'
"D ~ 1 „ i- ^ -rt. —
5o
214
382.1
906
1,008
111.2
Turkey (Europe and Asia, including Smyrna
656
1,096
166.9
Other Asia (including Persia, Rhodes, Cyprus,
and territory other than S'beria. which is
not included in the Asiatic barred zone.
Persons born in Siberia are included in the
81
528
651.9
^ All tables in this chapter are taken from annual reports of the Com-
missioner-General of Immigration to the Secretary of Labor.
148
IMMICxRATION RESTRICTION
Table 1. — Immigration of Aliens into the United States Under the
Per Centum Limit Act of May 19, 1921, during the Fiscal Year
mi-22.— {Continued.)
1 1 TTi h p r
admitted
Total ad-
and
missible
charged
Per cent
Country or place of birth
during
to quota
of quota
fiscal year
during
admitted
1921-22
the fiscal
year
1921-22
122
195
159.8
Australia
279
279
100
54
75
138.9
Atlantic islands (other than Azores, Madeira,
and islands adjacent to the American con-
65
83
127.7
Pacific islands (other than New Zealand and
islands adjacent to the American conti-
26
13
50
Total
356,995
243,953
68.3
entry and deported, as compared with 4,517 in the fiscal
year 1921.
The marked decline in immigration for the year 1921-1922
must undoubtedly be attributed to the operation of the
Act of May 19, 1921. The admissions in excess of quotas,
shown in the above table, the total number being 2,508,
represented a theoretically temporary disposition of cases
in which absolute and immediate rejection would have
inflicted great hardship on innocent immigrants. Refer-
ence to the sources of the principal excesses — Other Asia;
Turkey, Hungary, Poland, and Yugoslavia — is probably
sufficient to explain and also to justify the action taken by
the officials in exercising leniency in these cases. Nearly
all of the excess admissions occurred during the first six
months of the fiscal year, before the seriousness of the
law had been fully realized. The arrival of these aliens
after their respective quotas were exhausted represents
in part the eagerness of the aliens themselves to get in be-
fore the gates were closed, and in part the efforts of com-
peting steamship lines to carry as much as possible of the
149
150 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
limited immigrant business of the year. The latter seema
to have been by far the more important factor, for it was
inevitable that the alien steamship companies would try tc'
do everything possible to nullify the law for selfish pur-
poses. The President wrote on September 9, 1921, "1
haven't any doubt in the world but the enforcement ol
the immigration laws is working many a hardship." Dur-j
ing these early months of adjustment to numerical restric-
tions, both Congress and the ofiicials proved that theyj
were not so inhumane as some would have us believe.;
Congress passed resolutions granting relief in several cases.
The last group admission in these excess cases occurred
under a departmental order of December 23, 1921, known as
the Christmas order, which saved upward of 1,000 immi-
grants from immediate deportation. Following this a more
rigid application of the law was inaugurated and a con-
siderable number of aliens were rejected and deported, with '
the result that comparatively few excess-quota cases arose ■
during the latter months of the fiscal year.
The administration of the quota law during its initial
year developed many problems, and, especially during the
first six months of its operation, greatly overtaxed the
machinery of the service and particularly the facilities at
Ellis Island, but on the other hand this per centum law.
accomplished the purpose for which it was obviously en-
acted with a degree of success which few anticipated, for
according to a careful estimate it kept from our shores
1,750,000 to 2,000,000 immigrants, few of whom we would
have been prepared to receive and care for in a year of un-
employment and readjustment.
A glance at the foregoing table will clearly show that
while the countries of southern and eastern Europe, in-
cluding Asiatic Turkey and the new nations created out of
Turkish territory since the World War, in the main ex-
hausted, and in several instances exceeded, the quotas
allotted to them, the opposite was true of nearly all of the
countries of northern and western Europe, which, for the
purpose of this discussion, include the British Islands,
' EMERGENCY QUOTA LEGISLATION, 1921-1924 151
Scandinavia, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzer-
land, and France. The status of these two areas, as well
as that of all other countries which are within the scope
of the quota law, is shown in the table which
follows:
Table 2. — Immigration of Aliens Into the United States Under the Per
Centum Limit Act of May 19, 1921, During the Fiscal Year 1921-22,
BY Specified Areas
Area
Total num-
ber admis-
sible during
fiscal year
1921-22
Number ad-
mitted and
charged to
quota dur-
ing the
fiscal year
1921-22
Per cent
of quota
admitted
Northern and western Europe
198,082
91,862
46.4
Southern and eastern Europe and
158,200
150,774
95.3
Other
713
1,317
184.7
This table needs little comment, but it is interesting to
note that the older sources of immigration, in northern
and western Europe, exhausted less than one-half of their
quotas during the fiscal year, while on the other hand
Russia was the only country of southern and eastern
Europe for which any considerable part of a quota re-
mained on June 30. In other words, the movement of the
year from the older sources was apparently a perfectly
normal one, although considerably smaller than it was prior
to the World War, but it is impossible to say how many
aliens would have come from southern and eastern Europe
and Turkey had it not been for the limitation afforded by
the per centum limit act. Reference to Table 1 will show
that the large percentage of the excess admissions coming
from "Other sources" is in the main due to the influx from
"Other Asia," 528 being admitted from this source tempo-
rarily and otherwise, whereas the total quota for the year
was only 81. It may be explained that the excess in this
instance was for the most part attributable to the coming
of the groups of so-called Assyrian refugees, who were
152 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
forced to take refuge in Mesopotamia after fleeing fron
their homes in Persia during the war and who lated apphe( ,
for admission at various Atlantic and Pacific ports.
When the quota law, which, as before stated, expiree
V by limitation on June 30, 1922, was extended for two years
certain changes which had occurred during the year necessi-
tated some revision of the basic population of various coun i
tries. Germany's quota was somewhat reduced and Po-
land's correspondingly increased through the partition oi^
Upper Silesia. Separate quotas were established for areaj
known as Esthonia, Lithuania, Latvia, and Bessarabia,
all of which territory was included with Russia in the
quota allotment of 1921-22. A separate quota was giver
to Russian Armenia, and Turkish Armenia and the Smyrna
region were merged with Turkey. Iceland and the Meme]
region, which were included with "Other Europe" were
given separate quota allotments. The quotas of New Zea-jj
land and Pacific Islands were merged and other minon
changes made. 1
The fiscal year ended June 30, 1923 was the second com-,
plete year during which the quota limit act of May 19, 1921
was in operation. The number of immigrants admitted
reached a total of 522,919 during the year, compared to|
309,556 such admissions in the fiscal year 1922, an increase
of 213,363. This gain was almost entirely due to in-
creased immigration from British North America and
Mexico, which countries were and still are not within the
scope of the quota provisions, and to the fact that natives
of north and west European countries used 90 per cent
of their allotted quotas in the year 1922-23, compared with
only 46.4 per cent in the preceding fiscal year. During the
year 1923 there were 335,480 aliens charged to the quota,
leaving 187,439 to enter otherwise. Of the latter, 117,011;
were admitted from Canada, 63,768 from Mexico, 13,181
from the West Indies, and smaller numbers from other
sources, only a minor part of such immigration being sub-i
ject to the provisions of the quota law.
153
154 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
The following table shows the operation of the quoU
law during the two fiscal years ended June 30, 1922 anc
1923:
Table 3. — Immigration Quotas Allotted to Specified Countries oqn
Regions of Birth and the Number of Aliens Admitted and Chargb
Against Such Quota Allotments, Fiscal Years Ended June 30, 195
and 1923
Country or region of birth
Albania
Armenia
Armenia (Russian)
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Czechoslovakia
Danzig, Free City of
Denmark
Finland
Fiume, Free State of
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Italy
Luxemburg
Netherlands
Norway
Poland (including Eastern Galicia) . .
Portugal (including Azores and Madeira
Islands)
Rumania
Russia (including Siberia)
Esthonian region
Latvian region
Lithuanian and Memel regions
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom
Yugoslavia
Other Europe (including Andorra, Gib-
raltar, Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco,
and San Marino ; and Memel and
Iceland for 1922)
Palestine
Syria
Turkey (European and Asiatic, includ
ing Smyrna region ; and Turkish
Armenian region for 1923)
Other Asia (including Cyprus, Hedjaz,
Iraq (Mesopotamia, Persia, Rhodes,
and any other Asiatic territory not
included in the barred zone. Persons
born in Asiatic Russia are included
in the Russia quota)
Africa
Australia
New Zealand and Pacific Islands...,
Atlantic islands (other than Azores)
Canary Islands, Madeira, and islands
adjacent to the American continents
1923
Quota
Number
ad-
mitted
Quota
Number
ad-
mitted
1923
1922
288
288
^88
280
100.0
97.0
• • • •
1,574
• • ■ ■
99.0
230
• • 1 •
-I n W A
100.0
7,451
7,358
7,451
4,797
98.8
64.4
1,563
1,563
1,563
1,581
100.0
101.2
302
295
302
301
97.7
99.6
14,357
14,357
14,282
14,248
100.0
99.8
Qni
OU i
263
301
85
80.5
28.2
5,619
5,226
5,694
3,284
93.0
57.6
3,921
3,921
3,921
3,038
100.0
77.. 5
71
67
'71
18
94.4
25.3
5,729
5,034
5,729
4,343
87.9
75.9
67,607
49,258
68,059
19,053
73.0
28.0
3,294
3,294
3,294
3,447
100.0
104.7
5,638
5,638
5,638
6,035
■ ' ■ '
100.0
107.2
75
oy
78 6
* ■ ■ ■
42 057
42,057
42 057
42,149
1 fin n
100.2
92
92
92
93
100.0
101.1
3 607
3,607
3,607
2,408
100.0
66.8
12^202
12,202
12,202
5,941
100.0
48.7
31,146
29,730
25,827
26,129
95.5
101.1
2,465
2,465
2,520
2,486
100.0
98.6
7,419
7,419
7,419
7,429
100
100.1
24,405
24,405
34,284
28,908
100
84.4
1,348
241
17.9
1,540
1,513
98.3
....
2,460
2,460
....
100
....
912
912
912
888
100
97.4
20,042
19,867
20,042
8,766
99.1
43.8
3,752
3,752
3,752
3,723
100
99.2
77,342
77.542
77,342-
42,670
100
55.2
6,426
6,426
6,42B
6,644-
100
103.5
86
86
86
144
100
167.4
57
57
56
214
100
382.1
928
928
906
1,008
100
166.9
2,888
2,388
656
1,096
100
111.2
81
81
81
528
100
651.9
122
122
122
195
100
159.8
279
279
279
279
100
100
80
80
80
88
100
110
121
118
65
83
97.5
127.7
335,480
356,995
243,953
93.8
68.3
Per cent of
quota admitted
EMERGENCY QUOTA LEGISLATION, 1921-1924 155
; The real significance of the data shown in the foregoing
ompilation will be more readily comprehended by a study
f the following table in which are compared the quota
Ilotments of, and the number of aliens admitted from,
lorthern and western Europe; southern and Eastern
Europe, including Asiatic Turkey and ''Other Asia," and
iertain other sources subject to the quota law, during the
wo fiscal years under consideration:
?ABLE 4. — Immigration Quotas Allotted to SpEariED Areas, and the
Number of Aliens Admitted and Charged Against Such Quota
Allotments, Fiscal Years Ended June 30, 1922 and 1923
Areas
1923
1922
Per cent of
quota admitted
Quota
No. ad-
mitted
Quota
No. ad-
mitted
1923
1922
J^orthern and western
Southern and eastern
i Europe, including Asi-
atic Turkey and other
Africa, Australia, New
Zealand and other Pa-
cific islands, and At-
Total
197,555
159,646
602
177,943
156,938
599
198,082
158,367
546
91,862
151,446
645
243,953
90.
98.3
99.5
46.4
95.6
118.1
357,803
335,480
356,995
93.8
68.3
' The chief significance of the foregoing figures lies in the
fact that while in the fiscal year 1922 only 46.4 per cent
of the combined quotas of northern and western European
countries were exhausted, 90 per cent of the total allot-
ment was utilized in the fiscal year 1923, the increase in
numbers being from 91,862 in 1921-22 to 177,943 in 1922-23.
Table 3 shows that the quotas of the United Kingdom,
Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Netherlands, and
Switzerland were either completely or practically exhausted,
the German quota being the only one of this group which
reached the end of the fiscal year with any considerable
156 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
balance. This was contrary to the arguments of the opp«j
nents of the quota law, who, prior to this, contended thjj
the immigrants from Northern and Western Europe woul
not exhaust their quotas.
On the other hand the quotas of the southern and easter '
European and Near East group were substantially e>
hausted in both years, the small increase in 1922-23 beiii
due to the fact that more favorable conditions surrounc |
ing the immigration of natives of Russia made possible th ,1
coming of increased numbers of that nationality. |
Due to the fact that 20 per cent of a quota allotmei]
could be admitted in any month, several of the national!
ties concerned completely exhausted their quotas for th
fiscal year 1923 in November. This experience amply justi
fied the wisdom of fixing a monthly limit and indicated th
necessity for making the monthly quota smaller. Fortu
nately, however, for the Immigration Service some of th
larger quotas were better distributed, not being exhaustei
until April or May. New problems arose during the yea
and already existing problems were in some cases intensifiec
particularly that of preventing illegal entries over thi
land boundaries and at seaports. However, restrictioi
of immigration by means of a quota system had vindicate(
itself by this time, and it was already evident that th'
plan would be a good one if a proper basis for the quot;
scheme could be worked out, together with amendment ;
to eliminate certain administrative difficulties.
With three exceptions the quotas of all countries am
places included in the quota area were entirely exhaustec
during the fiscal year 1923-24, the three referred to, witl
the balance remaining in their respective quotas on Jun(
30, being Esthonia 124; Free State of Fiume, 5; and Ice
land, 32. The complete record of quota transactions during
the three fiscal years 1922-24, is shown in the following
table:
EMERGENCY QUOTA LEGISLATION, 1921-1924 157
Table 5. — Immigration Quotas Allotted to Specified Countries or Regions of Birth,
AND TUB Number of Aliens Admitted and Charged Against Such Quota Allot-
ments, Fiscal Years Ended Junb 30, 1922, 1923, and 1924
Country or region of birth
\lbania
\rmenia (Russian) . . .
\ustria
Belgium
13ulj;aria
Czechoslovakia
Danzig, Free City of..
Denmark
Esthonia
Finland
Fiume, Free State of. .
France
(wrmany
(;itat Britain, Ireland.
(Jiicce
Hungary (including Sopron District).
Ici land
Latvia
Lithuania (including Memel and part
of Pinsk region) ,
Luxemburg
Netherlands
Ncirwaj' ,
Poland (including Eastern Galicia and
part of Pinsk region)
Portugal (including Azores and Madeira
Islands) ,
Rumania
Russia, European and Asiatic (excluding
barred zone)
Spain (including Canary Islands)
Sweden
Switzerland
Yugoslavia
Other Europe (including Andorra, Gib-
raltar, Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco,
and San Marino)
Palestine
Syria
Turkey (European and Asiatic, includ-
ing Smyrna region, and Turkish-
Armenian region)
Other Asia (including Cyprus, Hedjaz,
Iraq (Mesopotamia), Persia, Rhodes,
and any other Asiatic territory not
included in the barred zone ; persons
born in Asiatic Russia are included
in the Russia quota)
Africa (other than Egypt)
Egypt
Atlantic Islands (other than Azores,
Canary Islands, Madeira, and islands
adjacent to the American continents)
Australia
New Zealand and Pacific islands
Year ended June
30, 1924
Total
Quota
288
230
7,342
1,563
302
14,357
301
5,619
1,348
3,921
71
5,729
67,607
77,342
3,063
5,747
75
42,057
1,540
2,629
92
3,607
12,202
30,977
2,465
7,419
24,405
912
20,042
3,752
6,426
57
882
2,654
Number
ad-
mitted
92
104
18
121
279
80
288
230
7,342
1,563
302
14,357
301
5,619
1,224
3,921
66
5,729
67,607
77,342
3,063
5,747
43
42,057
1,540
2,629
92
3,607
12,202
30,977
2,465
7,419
24,405
912
20,042
3,752
6,426
2,654
92
104
18
121
279
80
357,803 357,642 357,803
Year ended June
30, 1923
Quota
288
230
7,451
1,563
302
14,357
301
5,619
1,348
3,921
71
5,729
67,607
77,342
3,294
5,038
75
42,057
1,540
2,460
92
3,607
12,202
31,146
2,465
7,419
24,405
912
20,042
3,752
6,426
57
928
81
122
121
279
80
Number
ad-
mitted
288
230
7,358
1,563
295
14,357
263
5,226
241
3,921
67
5,034
49,258
77,342
3,294
5,638
59
42,057
1,513
2,460
92
3,607
12,202
29,730
2,465
7,419
24,405
912
19,867
3,752
6,426
57
928
2,388
81
122
118
279
80
,480
Year ended June
30, 1922
Quota
288
1,589
7,451
1,563
302
14,282
301
5,694
3", 921
71
5,729
68,059
77,342
3,294
5,638
42,057
92
3,607
12,202
25,827
2,520
7,419
34,284
912
20,042
3,752
6,426
86
56
906
656
81
122
65
279
80
* Turkish and Russian Armenia for the year 1922.
t Esthonia, Latvia, and Lithuania included with Russia for the year 1922.
% Iceland included with other Europea for the year 1922.
158
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
The next table shows the same information classifiedf'
by specified groups of countries.
Table 6. — Immigration Quotas Allotted to Specified Areas and the
Number of Aliens Admitted and Charged Against Such Quota
Allotments, Fiscal Years Ended June 30, 1922, 1923 and 1924
Areas
1924
1923
1922
Quota
No. ad-
mitted
Quota
No. ad-
mitted
Quota
No. ad-
mitted
Northern and western
Southern and eastern
Europe, including Asi-
atic Turkey and other
Africa, Australia, New
Zealand and other Pa-
cific islands, and Atlan-
197,555
159,646
602
197,555
159,485
602
197,555
159,646
602
177,943
156,938
599
198,082
158,367
546
91,862
151,446
645
357,803
357,642
357,803
335,480
356,995
243,953
A total of 879,302 aliens were admitted to the United
States during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1924, of which
706,587 were immigrants and 172,715 were non-immigrants.
Only 357,642 admissions were charged to the quota. In
other words, 1^6 per cent more aliens were admitted outside
the quota than were admitted under it. The 706,587 immi-
grants admitted in the fiscal year 1924 were more than
the intake of immigrants in any year up to 1882, and ex-
ceeded in only 14 fiscal years of our history. Legal admis-
sions from countries outside the quota law for 1923-24 are
shown in the table below:
Table 7. — Immigration from Nonquota Countries in the Fiscal Years
1923-24
Country of last permanent residence
Immi-
grants
Non-immi-
grants
Total
7,098
7,721
14,819
8,018
2,220
10,238
193
341
534
200,956
9,211
210,167
2,004
2,252
4,256
89,311
4,580
93,891
9,297
3,596
12,893
17,558
19.394
36,952
80,682
80,682
58
23
81
Total
334,493
130,020
464,513
EMERGENCY QUOTA LEGISLATION, 1921-1924 159
The following table is given in order to compare the
figures for the fiscal year 1924 with other years:
Table 8. — Immigrant Aliens from Certain Countries and Areas in
Specified Fiscal Years
Countries
1914
1921
1922
1923
45,759
48,277
15,740
34,184
12,469
1924
England, Scotland, and Wales.
Norway, Sweden, and Denmark
Other northern and western
Total
Austria
Italv
Other southern and eastern Eu-
Turkey in Asia
Total
Grand total
48,729
35.734
24,688
29,391
25,591
51,142
6,803
28,435
22,854
29,317
25,153
17,931
10,579
14,625
11,149
59,490
75.091
17,111
35,577
16,077
164,133
138,551
79,437
156,429
203,346
134,831
143 321
35,832
283,738
255'660
40,876
21,716
4,947
7 709
28,502
222,260
6^398
244,004
11,735
5,019
3,457
40,319
17,'l43
65,254
1,998
8,103
3,333
46,674
17^507
69,960
2,183
7,505
4.871
56,246
12)649
73,916
2,820
915,974
525,548
138,946
153,674
163,813
86,139
14,614
37,620
72,317
30,758
38,054
46,810
19,551
24,812
117,011
63,768
32,037
200,690
89,336
49,711
1,218,480
805,228
309,556
522,919
706,896
With the exception of the rapid increase in immigration
from Germany between 1921 and 1924, the record of the
first group of countries presents no very unusual features.
The number admitted from Germany in 1914 was not far
from the annual average for 15 or 20 years prior to the
war, but the fact that more than twice as many came in
1924 suggests the probability that except for quota limita-
tions a revival of the large German immigration of earlier
years might have been expected. The number coming from
Ireland during this period was considerably below pre-
war figures and, unlike the countries of Great Britain and
Scandinavia, it had not increased greatly since 1921. Al-
though not shown separately in the table, it is of interest
to note that in the year 1924 Scotland contributed 33,471
160 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
immigrants, or more than one-half of all who came from
the four British countries. In this connection it may be
stated that prior to the war immigration from Scotland
averaged about 14,000 annually.
The figures in the second and third groups in the table'
are clearly indicative of the radical effect brought about
by the policy of restriction which began with the enact-
ment of the quota limit law in May, 1921. The record of
immigration in 1914 from the countries of south and east
Europe and the Near East, although a little higher than
the pre-war normal, are nevertheless fairly representative
of that period. By 1921, as the table shows, there had
been a remarkably quick revival, which followed an almost
complete cessation of the movement from these sources
during the war years, and, as pointed out in the annual
reports of the Commissioner-General of Immigration, this
revival gave every promise of an unprecedented deluge of
immigration when peace was fully established and trans-
portation facilities restored. It will be noted that in 1921
the contribution of Italy, Greece, and Turkey began to
approximate pre-war figures, and while Austria, Hungary,
and Russia, formerly prolific sources of immigration, sent
comparatively few in that year, a large part of the 244,004
recorded as coming from other south and east Europe came
from territory once belonging to those three countries.
Then came the limitations imposed by the quota act and
during the three years it was in force the total number ad-
mitted from south and east Europe and Turkey was con-
siderably below the partially revived immigration from the
same sources in 1921, and less than one-half as great as
the number who came in the single year 1914.
In the case of both of the European groups under con-
sideration the extent of possible immigration was limited
by the quota act, and what the influx might have been
except for that restraint can only be conjectured. It is safe
to say, however, that it would have far exceeded that of
any like period in our immigration history. Natives of
EMERGENCY QUOTA LEGISLATION, 1921-1924 161
Canada and Mexico, and persons born in other countries
who had resided there for five years, were not subject to
quota Hmitations, and these people simply came in un-
precedented numbers to take advantage of opportunities
which were closed or largely closed to European immigrants.
Under the per centum limit act of 1921, 20 per cent of the
quota of any country could be admitted in a single month.
It was further provided that certain classes of aliens, not-
ably members of the various professions and domestic
servants, who were counted against quotas, could be ad-
mitted without numerical limit when such quotas became
exhausted. In the fiscal year ending June 30, 1924, nearly
all of the quotas, large and small, were filled before Janu-
ary 1, with the result that during the remaining six months
of the fiscal year considerable numbers were admitted under
the exceptions referred to.
'The number admitted in excess of quotas was also
added t(5 by reason of court decisions, notably in the so-
called Gottlieb case wherein United States Circuit Judge
Mack ruled that the liberal exceptions found in the so-called
'Asiatic barred zone' of the immigration act of 1917 were
also applicable in the per centum limit law which was en-
acted four years thereafter. Other Federal courts at New
York and also at Boston not only followed the Gottlieb
decision but even sought to enlarge the classes to which it
applied. Under the circumstances the immigration ser-
vice could not do otherwise than to admit applicants who
came within the scope of these decisions until the Supreme
Court of the United States, on May 26, 1924, declared that
both the District Court and Circuit Court of Appeals were
in error, and that exemptions covering a specific class of
aliens mentioned in the act of 1917 could not be made to
apply in the case of aliens who had been excluded under
a subsequent law."^ Upward of 20,000 aliens w^ere admitted
under the court decisions referred to, and in order to avoid
* Annual Report of the Commissioner-General of Immigration for 1924,
p 5. See also 285 Fed. 295 and infra, p. 179.
162 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
their possible deportation, as a result of the Supreme Court
decision, Congress provided that their residence in the
United States might be legalized.
Briefly stated, then, the increase of 183,977 admissions
in the fiscal year 1924 over the preceding year was largely
due to increased immigration from Canada, Mexico, and
other nonquota countries; to admissions, under exceptions
after quotas became exhausted, whith in the case of most
countries occurred during the first six months of the fiscal
year; to the fact that 22,162 more aliens were admitted
and charged to quotas than in the previous year; and
finally, to admissions under the court decisions above re-
ferred to, which admissions were subsequently legalized
by Congress.
The net additions to the alien population of the United
States resulting from the entire inward and outward alien
movements during the three years under the 3 per cent
quota law is of interest and value. The following table
indicates these net additions:
Table 9. — Net Additions to the Alien Population of the United States
FOR the Fiscal Years 1922, 1923, 1924
Fiscal Year
1924
Fiscal Year
1923
Fiscal Year
1922
Immigrant aliens
Net addition to alien population . .
706,896
172,406
522,919
150,487
309,556
122,949
879,302
673,406
432,505
76,789
139,956
81,450
119,136
198,712
146,672
216,745
200,586
345,384
662,557
472,820
87,121
The important thing to note in the above table is the
great proportionate increase in the net alien population
for the fiscal years 1923 and 1924, which means that fewer
emigrant aliens were leaving the country for permanent
residence elsewhere. It would seem, therefore, that under
the quota act immigration was becoming more and more
EMERGENCY QUOTA LEGISLATION, 1921-1924 163
permanent in character. One of the outstanding things
shown by the above statistical record for the fiscal year
1924, was that while the number of immigrant and non-
immigrant aliens entering the country was more than
200,000 greater than in the fiscal year inTmediately pre-
ceding it, the increase of emigrant and nonemigrant aliens
departing was only 16,159.
The record of this inward and outward movement of
aliens from 1908 to the present time is shown in the next
table. A study of this table, condensed as it is, discloses
several significant facts concerning the trend of immigra-
^tion and emigration during the preceding 17 years, notably
the unusual outward movement following the industrial
depression of 1907-08; the relatively large emigration dur-
ing the early years of the World War, which it is known,
included many who went to join the colors of their re-
spective countries; the sudden increase in both immigra-
tion and emigration following the armistice; the sharp
decline of immigration in 1922 resulting from the quota
limit law, and, finally, the revival of immigration and the
remarkable decline in emigration during the two fiscal
years 1923 and 1924, also under the quota act. In the
latter connection it is interesting to note that while the
number of aliens of both classes admitted in the fiscal
year 1924 was exceeded in 8 of the 17 years considered,
the permanent addition to the alien population was
numerically larger in 1923-24 than in any other year ex-
cept 1910, 1913, and 1914. This, to all appearances, is
substantial evidence of a greatly increased stability or
permanence in immigration under the quasi-restrictive
policy represented by the quota limit law, although, of
course, it can not be said that the law is the only cause
that contributed to that end.
Disregarding the nonimmigrant and nonemigrant classes
and considering immigrant and emigrant aliens only, which
means those coming for permanent residence here or de-
parting for permanent residence abroad, the record dis-
closed by the table below is even more interesting and
164
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
a
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t>. CO 05 lO CO CO CD O 1— I 00 lO O
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iq^Oi^
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r-H t>. t>.
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iq^ 1>-^ Tt^^ r-i »-H^ co„ 1>.^ l>.^
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tOt^C^OOOcOCOOOJOJ
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00"^ 00"^ h-" 00" co" 00" to" o" T-T o"
t>.C0a)r-<?5O5O5t-irt<C0
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05 CO 00
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05 01 01 05
EMERGENCY QUOTA LEGISLATION, 1921-1924 165
significant. This is especially true with reference to the
record of the last five years of the period which follows:
Year
Immigrant Al
iens
Emigrant Aliens
1920 ....
430,001
288,315
1921 ....
805,228
247,718
1922 ....
309,556
198,712
1923 ....
522,919
81,450
1924 ....
706,896
76,789
Since
1899 all aliens admitted into
the United States
have been classified by the Government under the head
of "races or peoples," as well as by the country of origin,
although for quota purposes, viz., since 1921, place of birth
controls regardless of race. Thus, an Englishman is counted
as such under the head of ''races or peoples" whether he
comes from England, Canada, or China. The aliens ad-
mitted from Turkey in Asia during the fiscal year 1923
included only 158 persons of the Turkish race compared
with 658 Armenians, 631 Syrians, 417 Hebrews, 179 Greeks,
and 140 of various other races or peoples. Since what is
true of Turkey in this case is also true in some degree of
every other country from which immigrants come, such a
classification has great value. The number of immigrant
ahens of the various races or peoples admitted during
the fiscal years 1914, 1921 and 1924 is shown in the follow-
ing table:
Table 11. — Immigrant Aliens Admitted to the United States During
THE Fiscal Years Ended June 30, 1914, 1921, and 1924, by Races or
Peoples
Fiscal year
Race or People
1923-24
1920-21
1913-14
12,243
9,873
8,447
Armenian
2,940
10,212
7,785
Bohemian and Moravian (Czech)
6,869
1,743
9,928
Bulgarian, Serbian, and Montenegrin
2,482
7,700
15,084
Chinese
4,670
4,017
2,354
Croatian and Slovenian
4,137
11,035
37,284
Cuban
1,412
1,523
3.539
Dalmatian, Bosnian, and Herzegovinian
295
930
5,149
166 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
Table 11. — Immigrant Aliens Admitted to the United States Durin(i
THE Fiscal Years Ended June 30, 1914, 1921, and 1924, by Races of
Peoples. — (Continued.)
Kace or People
Fiscal year
ly2d-24
1920-21
1913-14 '
7,840
12,813
12,566
154
353
172
93,939
54,627
51,746 ^
3,975
4,233
12305 1
48,632
24^122
18 ,166 i
95^627
24^168
79371
5^252
31^828
45 381 «
49,989
119,036
138,051
42^364
39'056
33398 '
11,576
27^459
44302
47^633
195^037
251^612
8,481
7^531
8^941
122
61
152
1,991
829
21,584
7,446
9,377
44,538
87,648
29,603
13^089
12
13
1
T>_,1 • U
19,371
21,146
122,657
3,892
18*856
9]647
1,727
5^925
24,070
9,531
2387
44',957
2,356
958
36,727
Scandinavian (Norwegians, Danes, and
40,978
25,812
36,053
61,327
24,649
18,997
Slovak
5,523
35,047
25319
3,664
27,448
11,064
Spanish American
3,065
3,325
1,544
1,595
5,105
9,023
Turkish
355
353
2,693
Welsh
2,635
1,748
2,558
2,211
1,553
1,396
Other peoples
937
3,237
3,830
Total
706,896
805,228
1,218,480
The next table shows the same data classified according
to the races or peoples principally indigenous to specified
parts of Europe and the Near East, together with Mexicans
and all others, the latter including oriental peoples, Cubans,
Spanish Americans, West Indians, and others.
EMERGENCY QUOTA LEGISLATION, 1921-1924 167
Table 12. — Immigrant Aliens Admitted by Principal Races or Peoples
IN Fiscal Years Specified
Race or people
Number admitted
Per cent of total
1923-24
1920-21
1913-14
1923-24
1920-21
1913-14
Northern and west-
ern Europe
Southern and east-
ern Europe and
Turkey
393,342
192,599
87,648
33,307
206,995
537,144
29,603
31,486
253,855
921,160
13,089
30,376
55.7
27.2
12.4
4.7
25.7
66.7
3.7
3.9
20.8
75.6
1.1
2.5
Total
706,896
805,228
1,218,480
100.0
100.0
100.0
This table brings out the interesting fact that the pro-
, portion of northern and western European peoples in our
immigration increased from 20.8 per cent of the whole in
1913-14 to 55.7 per cent in the fiscal year 1924 and that
the proportion of southern and eastern European peoples
j decreased from 75.6 per cent of the whole in 1913-14 to only
I 27.2 per cent in 1923-24. It will also be noted that as
between the two years named there was a numerical in-
crease of nearly 140,000 in the first group and a decrease
' of 728,561 in the second. It is also interesting to note that
immigrants of the Mexican race increased from an insignifi-
cant proportion of the whole in 1913-14 to 12.4 per cent in
the fiscal year, 1923-24, the numerical increase being from
I 13,089 to 87,648, a number equal to about 45 per cent of the
year's total immigration of southern and eastern European
I peoples. The proportion of '^all others" also increased from
j 2.5 per cent to 4.7 per cent between the two years under
consideration, but there was a small numerical increase in
this group.
! Among the many changes that resulted from the opera-
I tion of the per centum limit law was the steady and very
1 considerable increase in the proportion of English-speak-
'\ ing peoples among arriving aliens, as shown in the following
\table:
16^ IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
Table 13. — Immigrant Auens of the English and Non-English Speak
iNG Races Admitted, During the Fiscal Yrars Specified
J? ibcdi year
(ended June 30)
admitted
H n rpl 1 o r»
iLngllbll
speaking *
Non-
English
speaking
Per cent of total
English
Non-
English
1914
1,218,480
107,199
1,111,281
8.8
91.2
1921
805,228
120,080
685,148
14.9
85.1
1922
309,556
64,172
245,384
20.7
79.3
1923
522,919
131,159
391,760
25.1
74.9
1924
706,896
200,265
506,631,
28.3
71.7
* English, Irish, Scotch, and Welsh races.
The immigration record of the fiscal year 1914 was fairly
typical in many respects of like records for a generation I
prior to the World War. In that year only 8.8 per cent
of our immigration was of the four English speaking
peoples — English, Irish, Scotch, and Welsh — and the total
number admitted was only 107,199. In the fiscal year,
1923-24, however, the number admitted was 200,265, nearlyi
twice as great as in 1913-14, and they constituted 28.3 peri
cent of the total immigration. In the same fiscal years, the
number of non-English-speaking peoples decreased from
1,111,281 to 506,631, and their proportion in the whole
immigration fell from 91.2 to 71.7 per cent. Putting it in
another way, in 1913-14 the number of non-English-speak-
ing peoples admitted was more than 1,000,000 in excess of
the peoples whose customary language was our own, but
in 1923-24 this difference was reduced to about 300,000.
From this it is evident that the emergency quota legisla-
tion did much good and, therefore, justified the continua-l
tion of a quota limitation.
The facts set forth in this chapter will be of great in-
terest to us when we consider the quota provisions in the
Act of 1924, the purpose of which is to materially lessen the ;
tide of immigration from the so-called '^new" sources, with- i
out unduly interfering with the normal movement of north
west European peoples into the United States. That the
Act of May 19, 1921 accomplished this to some extent is evi-
dent from the above facts, and from it came the solution to
the quota problem as worked out in the Act of 1924.
CHAPTER VII
The Immigration Act of 1924
President Coolidge's recommendations on Immigration — History of the
fohnson Bill — Provisions of the new law — Non-immigrant classes — Non-
g[Uota immigrants — The case for aliens now here without their immediate
families — Alien wives of American citizens — Travel permits for aliens now
here — Provisions concerning ministers, professors and students — The quota
provisions — Preferences within the quotas — Provisions concerning immi-
gration visas — Penal provisions — Provisions to check illegal entry of immi-
grants as seamen — Burden of proof on the alien — This act is additional
legislation on immigration — Sources of opposition.
The numerical restrictions provided for in the 3 per cent
Act of May 19, 1921 were drastic, yet the emergency de-
manded drastic action. The law itself worked many hard-
ships for it was not perfect. Indeed, it was never at any
time considered permanent legislation. Its life was ex-
tended for two years by the Act of May 11, 1922 for the
sole purpose of giving Congress time to work out more
permanent legislation. The quota law based on the census
of 1910 was not based on historical facts, and, therefore,
at best, was.^ajiiakeshift affair. However, a quota limita-
tion had proved to be the most effective method of restrict-
ing immigration yet devised and at no time was the aban- ,
donment of such a plan contemplated. It had done much ;
good and within a short time we began to learn many
lessons which were to be invaluable when the time came
to write a law that would be numerically restrictive, selec-
tive and based on historical facts.
In his first annual message to Congress on December
6, 1923 President Coolidge dealt with the immigration ques-
tion in a constructive manner. He pointed Congress in
the right direction when he stated that ''American institu-
169
170 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
tions rest solely on good citizenship. They were created It
by people who had a background of self-government. Newij (
arrivals should be limited to our capacity to absorb them .
into the ranks of good citizenship. America must be kept I
American. For this purpose, it is necessary to continue
a policy of restricted immigration. It would be well to '
make such immigration of a selective nature with some
inspection at the source, and based either on a prior census
or upon the record of naturalization. Either method would
insure the admission of those with the largest capacity and ,.
best intention of becoming citizens. I am convinced that |
our present economic and social conditions warrant a limita-
tion of those to be admitted. We should find additional
safety in a law requiring the immediate registration of all
aliens. Those who do not want to be partakers of the ill
American spirit ought not to settle in America."
Since few subjects can stir more argument, more dif-
ferences of opinion, than immigration, since nothing breeds
so much trouble as racial differences, it was inevitable that
the drafting of a bill that would carry out the principles
of restricted immigration in a constructive manner as out- j
lined by the President in his message would be full of diffi-
culties. The House and Senate Committees on Immigra-
tion and Naturalization had studied the problem during ;
the two years of the Sixty-seventh Congress. The con-
clusions of the House Committee were set forth in a report :
to the House of Representatives on February 15, 1923.^ '
In the congestion of legislation nothing was done before '!
Congress adjourned in March. The intervening months. '
to December, when Congress again assembled, gave an |
opportunity for public opinion to crystallize and assert it-
self.
Before January 20, 1924, fifty proposals dealing with the j
subject of immigration had been presented in Congress,
and many others were introduced after that date, among
which were twenty or more well-defined plans for restrict |
tion. However, from the time Congress assembled until its
* Report No. 1621, House of Representatives, 67th Congress, 4th seasion.
THE IMMIGRATION ACT OF 1924 171
ienactment into law the nation as a whole was concerned
lonly with the Johnson bill, now known as the 'Immigration
lAct of 1924." This measure was drafted by the House
[Committee and contained its previous recommendations,
tplus various perfecting amendments. Its principal features
lare: (1) it preserves the basic immigration law of 1917;
(2) it contains the principle of numerical limitation as in-_
augurated in the Act of May 19, 1921; (3) it changes the
[quota basis from the census of 1910 to the census of 1890;
(4) it reduces the quota admissible in any one year from
3 to 2 per cent; (5) it provides a method of selection of
immigrants at the source rather than to permit them to
come to this country and land at the immigration stations
without previous inspection; (6) it reduces the classes of
exempted aliens; (7) it places the burden of proof on the
alien to show that he is admissible under the immigration
laws rather than upon the United States to show that he
is not admissible; and (8) it provides for the exclusion
of those who desire to enter as immigrants who are not
I eligible to become naturalized citizens under our natural i 7a-
|i tion laws.
' The key to the law lies in an understanding of tho defini-
V tion of immigrants. The Act of 1921 dealt with ihe defini-
tion of aliens, whereas this new law deals with the defini-
tion of 'immigrants. All persons who may come to the
United States are considered immigrants except those who
are exempted in the definition of immigrants. '"'When used
in this Act the term 'immigrant' means any alien departing
from any place outside the United States destined for the
United States, except (1) a government official, his family,
attendants, servants, and employees, (2) an alien visiting
the United States temporarily as a tourist or temporarily
for business or pleasure, (3) an alien in continuous transit
through the United States, (4) an alien lawfully admitted
to the United States who later goes in transit from one
part of the United States to another through foreign con-
tiguous territory, (5) a bona fide alien seaman serving as
such on a vessel arriving at a port of the United States and
172
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
seeking to enter temporarily the United States solely in
pursuit of his calling as a seaman, and (6) an alien entitled
to enter the United States solely to carry on trade under
and in pursuance of the provisions of a present existing
treaty of commerce and navigation." - While these ex-
empted classes are composed of aliens they are not con-
sidered immigrants, and therefore they are not within the
scope of the new law.
The law then divides all immigrants into two classes,
quota immigrants and non-quota immigrants. Both classes
are required to secure certificates, but only those in the
quota class are counted to fill the quotas which are allotted
to the various countries.
Non-quota immigrants include,^ as stated in section 4:
"(a) An immigrant who is the unmarried child under
eighteen years of age, or the wife, of a citizen of the United
States who resides therein at the time of the filing of the
petition required under section 9; (b) an immigrant pre-
\'i(.ii^l3' lawfully admitted to the United States, who is re-
turning from a temporary visit abroad; (c) an immigrant
ho was born in the Duiiunion of Canada, Newfoundland,
the Repub]i(^ nf Mexico, the Republic of Cuba, the Republic
of Haiti, the Dominican Republic, the /Canal Zone, or an
wife, and his unmarried children unucr eighiC.?*! years of>
age, if accompanying or following to join hnu; (d) an iiT^.^ni- ;
grant who continuously for at least two years iminediatt /
preceding the time of application for admission to the
United States has been, and who seeks to enter the United
^Section 3 of the Act.
^ The Act of May 26, 1926, relating to ahen veterans of the armed forces
of the United States during the period of the World War is of wide appli-
cation. Under it provision is made for the admission of such veterans not
only without regard to the quota but also without regard to many of the
general provisions of the law. In addition, their wives and minor children
accompanying or following to join them within six months are exempted
from the quota. According to the Commissioner-General of Immigration
in his report for 1926 "there were in 1924 from 12,000 to 15,000 such veterans
in Italy alone. It is believed that this number represents the largest group |
in any one country. It will enable many expatriated naturalized American
citizens to return, with the families they have acquired abroad, and will,
no doubt, prove an important exception to the quota law" (page 21).
independent country of Cen.. : '
THE IMMIGRATION ACT OF 1924
173
States solely for the purpose of, carrying on the vocation
of minister of any religious denomination, or professor of a
college, academy, seminary, or university ; and his wife, and
his unmarried children under eighteen years of age, if
accompanying or following to join him; or (e) an immi-
grant who is a bona fide student * at least fifteen years of
age and who seeks to enter the United States solely for
j the purpose of study at an accredited school, college, acad-
emy, seminary, or university, particularly designated byv
ihim and approved by the Secretary of Labor, which shall
. have agreed to report to the Secretary of Labor the termina-
, tion of attendance of each immigrant student, and if any
such institution of learning fails to make such reports
promptly the approval shall be withdrawn." ^
A brief study of this legislation makes it clear that the
■! Act is filled with humane provisions.^ Under the Act of
1921 a family might arrive at a port in the United States,
only to find, as many did, that the quota provisions neces-
sitated a family division. This led to many hardships and
much criticism. It was a weakness that had to be elimi-
nated. The Act of 1924 does this by encouraging an immi-
I *In his report for 1925 the Commissioner-General of Immigration recom-
mended that "authority should be included in Section 15 of the act for the
imposition of a bond to guarantee the maintenance of the exempt status
; of an immigrant student, where the applicant is not believed to be seeking
admission in good faith, under Section 4 (e). As the matter now stands,
the bureau finds itself compelled to refuse admission to many aliens apply-
ing as immigrant students, whom it could properly admit as such if
authority were expressly conferred to exact bonds for the maintenance of
student status" (page 28). He repeated this recommendation in his 1926
report (page 23). The defect not having been foreseen, obviously should
be remedied.
®In United States of America, ex rel. Guide Antonini, v. Henry H. Cur-
ran, Commissioner of Immigration of the Port of New York, Circuit
Court of Appeals, Second Circuit; (see United States Daily for November
29, 1926) the court held that an Italian student who had been admitted
to college and was a bona fide student could not be held subject to exclu-
sion or deportation as an alien on the ground that during his studies he
gained his maintenance and tuition by self-supporting labor. In Low Cho
Oy, Appellant, v. John D. Nagle, Commissioner of Immigration for the
Port of San Francisco; Circuit Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, No. 4941,
it was held that the admission of a Chinese as a student gave him the
I rifeht to bring his wife with him. United States Daily, December 4, 1926.
*In his report for 1925 (page 1) the Commissioner-General of Immigra-
tion refers to the immigration act of 1924 as a "law with a heart."
174 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
grant to bring his family with him. Under the plan for the
issuance of immigration visas an immigrant can learn be-
fore leaving his home if all his family and the relatives
who desire to accompany him can enter the United States
with him within the quotaJ
The opponents of the bill tried, but in vain, to amend it
so as to permit all children, parents, and other relatives
to enter as non-quota immigrants. The advocates of re-
striction contended that their purpose was to load the law
down with so many '^humane" provisions as to destroy the
quota provisions indirectly and altogether. Thus, it was
argued, they would have accomplished indirectly what
they failed to do directly.
In one particular, however, the law may be said to
create a serious hardship, although to what extent it is
difficult to say. Under the bill as first drafted in the report
of February 15, 1923, an alien already here, who had taken
out his first papers and intended to become fully natural-
ized, could bring in his wife and minor children as non-
quota immigrants. Under the law as finally enacted, he
cannot do so, and, therefore, they must enter as quota immi-
grants, if they get here. Investigations showed that many
ahens now here could and should have brought their families
'In his annual report for 1926 the Secretary of Labor recommended to
Congress that a provision be added to the immigration laws requiring an
alien head of family seeking visa for permanent residence in the United
States to express intention regarding the future residence of the family,
and in the event that he expects later to have the family join him in the
United States, each member of the family would be required to submit to
preliminary examination to determine admissibility and to have visas
issued at the same time that his own arrangements are made. Should
dependent members of that family be found inadmissible, the entire family
would then be fully cognizant of the fact that such members could never
be admitted to the United States,
Since the life of an immigrant visa is now limited to four months, Sec-
retary Davis also recommended that authority be vested in an adminis-
trative officer to extend the validity of immigration visas so issued to
members of families whose heads are in the United States for a reason-
able length of time. It tiu- life of a ''family" visa were made one year,
and some arrangement perfected whereby it could be extended upon ap-
propriate showing of cause, the separation of families through immigration
of the future could be practically eliminated. The visas thus issued would,
of course, carry the quota allotn.ents in like manner as now provided by
law. Pages 110-111.
THE IMMIGRATION ACT OF 1924 175
With them, although some came here to work and save
3nough to send for them later. While Congress foresaw
to some extent the situation which has resulted for immi-
grants now here without their families, yet it feared a loop-
hole might result that would let in too many immigrants.
However, as everything is to be gained and nothing lost
from a united family life. Congress may reconsider and
permit aliens now in the United States to bring in their
wives and minor children as non-quota immigrants.^ The
present state of public opinion would seem to justify such
a change in the law. However, it would be necessary to
put a time limit when such preferences would have to
end.
On November 8, 1924 Secretary of Labor Davis ex-
pressed his opinion on this point as follows : ^'I would pro-
vide for preference in admission to this country for the
families of aliens already in the United States. Humanity
i demands that our immigration law shall not operate to
keep husband and wife, brothers and sisters, or parents
and children apart wherever it is possible to bring them to-
gether. There is an economic reason, too, for uniting the
families of immigrants. For, if the alien is unable to bring
' his family to his new country, he is forced to support it
abroad with the wages he earns in America. If he is
enabled to bring them here, the buying power of his Ameri-
can wages goes to help American business." ^
In his annual message to Congress, December 3, 1924
President Coolidge stated: ''I should like to see the ad-
ministrative features of this (the immigration) law rendered
a little more humane for the purpose of permitting those
already here a greater latitude in securing admission of
members of their own families. But I believe this law in
principle is necessary and sound and destined to increase
'Important debates on the admission of relatives of aliens now in the
United States took place in the Senate on December 14, 1926, and in the
House, Januaiy 25, 1927. For the full text of these debates see Con-
gressional Record, 69th Congress, 2d Session, pages 407-414 and 2281 to
2284.
j "In his annual report for 1926 (page 110) the Secretary of Labor repeated
I these recommendations.
176
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
greatly the public welfare. We must maintain our own I
economic position, we must defend our own national !
integrity."
In his report for 1925 the Commissioner-General of Im- 1
migration stated: ''It is my recommendation that 'non- i
quota immigrant' status should be extended to the parents \
of citizens, and further that the age limit for granting non-
quota visas to the unmarried children of citizens should be |
raised from 18 to 21 years, thus eliminating two preference |
classes — the parents and the unmarried children, between \
the ages of 18 and 21 years, of citizens of the United States !
— and placing these two classes among the non-quota j
classes. This will expedite the admission of parents and
children of American citizens and the bureau sees no reason ■
why we should delay what is so clearly an act of mercy."^^
He repeated virtually the same recommendation in his ■
report for 1926.1^ '
By the Act of September 22, 1922, it was provided, 'That
any woman who marries a citizen of the United States after I
the passage of this act, or any woman whose husband is
naturalized after the passage of this act, shall not become
a citizen of the United States by reason of such marriage :
or naturalization; but, if eligible to citizenship, she may i
be naturalized upon full and complete compliance with all
the requirements of the naturalization laws, with the fol-
lowing exceptions: '
(a) No declaration of intention shall be required.
(b) In lieu of the five-year period of residence within
the State or Territory where the n'aturalization court is
held, she shall have resided continuously within the United (j
States, Hawaii, Alaska, or Porto Rico, for at least one year j
immediately preceding the filing of the petition." This I
simply means that when an alien girl marries an American
citizen she docs not by that marriage ceremony become an
American citizen. Up to the time of this act she ipso facto '
became an American citizen and could come in as such.
""Page 28.
"Page 23.
I THE IMMIGRATION ACT OF 1924 177
Since the passage of the Act of September 22, 1922, we have
had cases where wives of American citizens, seeking admis-
sion into the United States, could not come in because the
quota of their nationality was filled. Under the Act of
1924 such wives of American citizens may enter as non-
quota imimigrants.^- This is a humane provision despite the
fact that frequently a delay of at least three months is
necessary to secure the proper papers to admit her as a
non-quota immigrant.
Another humane provision is the one which permits an
alien now in this country to go out on a temporary visit
and return exempt from the quota provisions. Let us
assume that the immigrant has taken out his first papers
and has foresworn allegiance to his mother country. He
has not taken on complete allegiance to the United States.
In that event he cannot get a passport from us to the coun-
try from which he came nor can be get a passport from the
country he left. The new law provides that he be given a
kind of travel permit which simply shows that he travels
with the intention of returning to the United States. How-
ever, it does not relieve him from being debarred on his
return if he has contracted any disease or subjected himself
to deportation under the Burnett Law.^^ This provision,
enacted for the benefit of aliens now in the United States,
permits them to return to their native land, yet it prohibits
"In his report for 1925 the Commissioner-General of Immigration recom-
mended that "Section 4(a) of the act should be amended to provide that
a v' f who is an American citizen, and resides in the United States, may
petition for the issuance of a non-quota immigration v^isa to her alien
husband. As it now stands, the law permits such a citizen wife to petition
only for preference for her husband. This subdivision of Section 4 should
also be amended to provide that either a husband or wife who is a citizen
of the United States may petition for the issuance of non-quota immigra-
tion visas to the children of either alien spouse" (page 28). He repeated
virtually the same recommendations in his report for 1926 (page 23).
"In his report for 1926 the Commissioner-General of Immigration stated:
"A permit to reenter the United States, once issued to an alien resident,
j-'hould be made prima facie evidence of his right to return, barring fraud
or disease. To give an alien a permit to reenter, which he has a right
to believe entitled him to readmission, and then to bar him because of
some requirement, which he has previously met and passed, is an injustice
of which no government should be guilty" (page 22).
178 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
additional ones from coming except under the quota. It
will be of most benefit to the aliens now here from Southern
Europe, the so-called new immigration, for these are the
ones who for the most part desire to return home to visit
their families and friends. Experience should prove this
to be a beneficial provision instead of a loophole as feared j
by some. If properly enforced it will prove the former,
otherwise the latter.
Concerning this permit to enter the United States after
a temporary absence, Section 10 states:
"(a) Any alien about to depart temporarily from the
United States may make application to the Commissioner-
General for a permit to reenter the United States, stating
the length of his intended absence, and the reasons there-
for. Such application shall be made under oath . . . and
shall be accompanied by two copies of the applicant's
photograph.
(b) If the Commissioner-General finds that the alien
has been legally admitted to the United States, and that
the application is made in good faith, he shall, with the
approval of the Secretary of Labor, issue the permit, speci-
fying therein the length of time, not exceeding one year,
during which it shall be valid. The permit shall be in
such form as shall be by regulations prescribed and shall
"During the fiscal year 1926 alien residents of the United States made
119,254 applications for permits to reenter this country after a temporary
visit abroad, which was an increase of 29,254 over the preceding year. Of
the 119,254 applications received, 104,666 return permits were issued and
6,636 were refused, the refusals being mainly for failure on the part of the
applicant to establish legal entry into the United States. 4,034 extensions
were granted on permits already issued. Report of Commissioner-General
of Immigration, page 11.
"In Francesco Lidennici, Severio Desiderio, Giovanni Candioti and
Nicolo Finaro v. James J. Davis, Secretary of Labor, and W. W. Husband,
Commissioner of Immigration; Court of Appeals, District of Columbia;
No. 4405; United States Daily, December 13, 1926, the court held that the
above Italians, returning after six months, were aliens who had entered
without right and in violation of the immigration statutes. The order of
deportation was affirmed. The complainants alleged that it was their
intention on departing from the United States to return to it, although
Lidennici had been in Italy about three years; Desiderio, about three
years; Condioti, about nine years and Finaro, about eight years. Fur-
thermore, their re-entry was not made at a specified port.
THE IMMIGRATION ACT OF 1924 179
have permanently attached thereto the photograph of the
alien to whom issued, together with such other matter as
may be deemed necessary for the complete identification
of the alien.
(c) On good cause shown the validity of the permit may
be extended for such period or periods, not exceeding six
months each, and under such conditions, as shall be by
regulations prescribed.
(d) For the issuance of the permit, and for each exten-
sion thereof, there shall be paid a fee of $3.^^
(e) Upon the return of the alien to the United States
the permit shall be surrendered to the immigration officer
at the port of inspection.
(f) A permit issued under this section shall have no
effect under the immigration laws, except to show that the
alien to whom it is issued is returning from a temporary
visit abroad; but nothing in this section shall be construed
as making such permit the exclusive means of establishing
that the alien is so returning."
Section 4 (d) grew out of a long contested case, decided
May 26, 1924, by the Supreme Court of the United States,
which decision fixed the construction of the immigration
acts of 1917 and 1921, in respect to the admissibility of
the wives and minor children of admitted immigrants.
. Gittel and Israel Gottlieb were the wife and four-year-old
child, respectively, of Solomon Gottlieb. Solomon Gottlieb
was a Jewish rabbi who came from Palestine to the United
States some 14 months before his wife and child came.
He was duly admitted and, procuring a position, furnished
support to his family until able to send passage money.
"For the fiscal year 1926 the sum of $326,100 was turned over to the
disbursing office of the department for transmission to the Treasury. Re-
port of the Commissioner-General of Immigration for 1926, pag€ 11.
"In John P. Johnson, U. S. Commissioner of Immigration, v. Cornelius
F. Keating, ex rel. Francesco Tarantino; Circuit Court of Appeals, First
Circuit (see United States Daily for January 15, 1927, page 7) the court
held that the reentry permit or immigration visa is not essential evidence
of the real status of a non-quota immigrant returning from a temporary
absence abroad. The exclusion of Tarantino on the sole ground that he had
no return permit or immigration visa was held to be unjust and unrea-
sonable, the equity of the case being undisputed.
180
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
On their arrival they were excluded because the quota ^
from Palestine was full. On a writ of habeas corpus in the '
District Court of New York admission was ordered, where-
upon an appeal was taken to the Circuit Court of Appeals.
Judge Rogers went carefully into the case, examining the
effect of the quota law of 1921 on the basic law of 1917.
The 1917 act provides that ministers and religious teachers
and their legal wives and children under 16 are not subject
to the exclusion clause of that act; this act not having been
repealed by the act of 1921, an effort must be made to con-
strue the limitations of the latter act so as not to do vio-
lence to the act of 1917. Rules for the construction of
statutes were discussed, one of which was that absurd
results should be avoided if possible. The conclusion was
reached that Congress intended nothing by the act of 1921
that would '^create a condition so unreasonable and absurd
as to admit a minister while at the same time excluding the
members of his family." The order of the court directing
the release of the wife and child was therefore affirmed-^^
KThis decision was made a precedent in a number of cases
involving similar and related conditions; but the Depart-
ment of Labor was not satisfied with the ruling as a final
determination and prosecuted an appeal to the Supreme
Court. Here it was conceded that the laws of 1917 and
1921 should be held as complemental, the provisions of the
earlier act being ''still fully operative and may be consid-
ered as forming a part of the later act." However, the
framing of the law was said to be so definite as not to
permit construction. The case was concededly ''one of
peculiar and distressing hardships," so that if a favorable
conclusion were possible it would naturally be made use
of; but an examination of the exceptions and qualifications
made it impossible to extend leniency to the case in hand,
the limited scope of the exception relied upon "being plain,
and no amount of discussion could make it plainer." The
limitation being what it was, any claim that it would be
"absurd and unreasonable" to bar wives and children of
^285 Fed. 295. Soc also supra, p. 161.
THE IMMIGRATION ACT OF 1924 181
admitted persons could not have weight, ''since the result
we have stated necessarily follows from the plain words of
the law, for which we are not at liberty to substitute a
rule based upon other notions of policy or justice."
If This decision clearly upheld the construction of law given
' it by the Department of Labor in its original finding, and
exposed to the possibility of deportation a considerable
i number of admitted persons, wives and children of immi-
11 grants residing in this country, who had been admitted
■ in obedience to the ruling of the courts below, but under
• notice that an appeal had been taken. However, Congress
f in its closing session on June 7, provided for the continued
i residence in this country of such persons, ''approximately
i ; 8,800 aliens who are now here and about 500 who are on
j the ocean." A resolution (H. J. Res. 283) lifting the ban
I against certain groups of such persons specified those here-
tofore admitted under a construction of the act of 1921
"required by court decision." This resolution was signed
by the President on the same day. Under the act of 1924,
the wife and unmarried children under eighteen years of
age of a minister, or a professor of a college, etc., who seeks
to enter the United States solely for the purpose of carry-
ing on his vocation, provided he has pursued the same con-
tinuously for two years immediately preceding the time
of his application for admission, may accompany him or
follow to join him later .'^^ The law is now so specific con-
cerning the admittance of wives and children of non-quota
immigrants that it is difiicult to foresee how many problems
can arise under it.
The basis and heart of the new law are those provisions
concerning quota immigrants. Section 5 states, "when used
in this Act the term 'quota immigrant' means any immi-
grant who is not a non-quota immigrant. An alien who is
"The act of July 3, 1926, pertj^ining to the wives and children of min-
isters and professors who entered the United States before July 1, 1924,
added to the classes exempt from the quota. Under it, for a period of
one year, this class of immigrants may be admitted upon showing that
the husband and father entered in pursuit of the exempt vocation. This^^
was in accord with the recommendation of the Commissioner-General of
Immigration in his report for 1925.
182 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
not particularly specified in this Act as a non-quota immi
grant or a non-immigrant shall not be admitted as a non '
quota immigrant or a non-immigrant by reason of rela '
tionship to any individual who is so specified or by reasor
of being excepted from the operation of any other law
regulating or forbidding immigration."
Section G provides for certain preferences within the
quotas, that is, in the issuance of immigration visas tc
immigrants it is the duty of consuls to give preferences
when necessar}^ to the following classes:
'^(1) To a quota immigrant who is the unmarried child
under 21 years of age, the father, the mother, the husband,
or the wife, of a citizen of the United States who is 21
years of age or over, and
^'(2) To a quota immigrant who is skilled in agricul-
ture, and his wife, and his dependent children under the
age of 16 years, if accompanying or following to join him.
The preference provided in this paragraph shall not apply
to immigrants of any nationality the annual quota for
which is less than 300."
However, these preferences shall not in the case of quo
immigrants of any nationality exceed 50 per centum of thej
annual quota for such nationality, while no priority inj
preference is to be granted to the class of immigrants speci-'
fied in paragraph (1) over the class specified in paragraph
(2). In case of quota immigrants of any nationality the
preference provided in this section shall be given in the
calendar month in which the right to preference is estab-
lished, if the number of immigration visas which may be
issued in such month to quota immigrants of such nation- 1
ality has not already been issued; otherwise in the next;
calendar month.
As we have noted, the Act of 1921 admitted from any;
one country 3 per cent of the number of persons born in;
that country who were resident in the United States as|
determined by the census of 1910. The total quota wasi
357,803. The Act of 1924 provides in section 11 that ^The
annual quota of any nationality shall be two per centum
THE IMMIGRATION ACT OF 1924 183
li' '
of the number of foreign born individuals of such nation-
ality resident in continental United States as deter-
mined by the United States census of 1890, but the
painimum quota of any nationality shall be 100." On
Ifchis basis the total annual quota for 1925 and 1926 was
164,667.2<^
This quota plan was to stand for three years, after which
the following quota plan was supposed' to go into effect:
'The annual quota of any nationality for the fiscal year
beginning July 1, 1927, and for each fiscal year thereafter,
shall be a number which bears the same ratio to 150,000
^as the number of inhabitants in continental United States
in 1920 having that national origin (ascertained as here-
inafter provided in this section) bears to the number of
inhabitants in continental United States in 1920, but the
minimum quota of any nationality shall be 100."
Provisions for working out this plan are carried in para-
I graphs (c), (d), and (e) of section 11, including a provision
for putting this plan into operation by proclamation of the
President, under certain conditions. Broadly speaking,
the original effect of section 11 was that for three years the
J quota shall be based on a percentage of the foreign-born in
the United States in 1890, and thereafter the quota per-
, centage was to be based upon the whole white population of
. the United States, with due regard to the national origin of
i that population. Section 12 provides for the working out
of the quotas based on the census of 1890. We shall discuss
these quota provisions fully in the next chapter, their
importance justifying such separate study.^^
^ 145,971 immigrants in 1925 and 157,432 immigrants in 1926 were ad-
mitted under the quota provisions. Report of the Commissioner-Gen-
eral of Immigration for 1926, page 6.
^On February 1, l'927, the Senate, without a record vote, adopted Senate
Joint Resolution No. 152, introduced by Senator Johnson of California,
which would postpone the effective date of the National Origins clause
from April 1, 1927 to April 1, 1928. The House Committee amended this
resolution to provide for the entire repeal of the national origins provi-
sions. It reported the resolution, thus amended, favorably to the House
on February 8, 1927. On March 3 the House passed the Senate resolution
without amendment. The Pre.sident approved it March 4, 1927. PuJ^Iio
Resolution No. 69.
184
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
While further restricting immigration in a practice
manner, another important purpose of the new law, as w<
have seen already, is to reduce hardships to the absolutt
minimum, to avoid the division of families, to save th(
nationals of other countries the expense, perils and hard!
ships of the ocean trip to the United States, only to fino
that for any one of various reasons the immigrant or somf<
member of his family may not enter. One of the most con-
structive provisions of the new law designed to reduce
such hardships, as well as to better control the tide of immi-
gration, is the one which provides for a form of examinatior
overseas. Until several years ago such a provision waf
deemed impractical and impossible. Yet such a plan hac;
the approval of virtually all thoughtful students of the
problems of immigration. It is the nearest approach to
the examination of immigrants overseas, recommended hy
Presidents Harding and Coolidge and so many others, that
the United States may safely adopt unless we are willing
that medical, physical and mental examinations made in
other lands shall be final, and that the making of such
examinations shall be a subject of treaty regulations.
The recommendations of President Harding, in his mes^
sage at the opening of the fourth session of the Sixtyn
seventh Congress, in regard to this subject, were as follows:
'^We had better provide registration for aliens, those now
here or continually pressing for admission, and establish
our examination boards abroad, to make sure of desirables
only. By the examination abroad we could end the pathos
at our own ports, when men and women find our doors
closed, after long voyages and wasted savings, because they
are unfit for admission. It would be kindlier and safer td
tell them before they embark."
The certificate plan of control, designated in the act asi
'^immigration visas," was built up from suggestions of I
former Commissioner-Generals -Caminetti and Husband,;
Secretary of Labor Davis and others. The plan, as workedf
out, is provided for in the law as follows:
THE IMMIGRATION ACT OF 1924 185
"Sec. 2 (a) A consular officer upon the application of
my immigrant may (under the conditions hereinafter pre-
scribed and subject to the limitations prescribed in the act
)r regulations made thereunder as to the number of immi-
p-ation visas which may be issued by such officer) issue to
luch immigrant an immigration visa which shall consist
)f one copy of the application provided for in section 7,
irisaed by such consular officer. Such visa shall specify
11) the nationality of the immigrant; (2) whether he is a
:iuota immigrant or a non-quota immigrant; (3) the date
m which the validity of the immigration visa shall expire ;
and (4) such additional information necessary to the proper
enforcement of the immigration laws and the naturalization
laws as may be by regulations prescribed.
"(b) The immigrant shall furnish two copies of his
photograph to the consular officer. One copy shall be per-
pfianently attached by the consular officer to the immigra-
tion visa. . . .
"(c) The validity of an immigration visa shall expire at
the end of such period, specified in the immigration visa,
pot exceeding four months, as shall be by regulations pre-
Bcribed. ... if the vessel, before the expiration of the
validity of his immigration visa, departed from the last
port outside the United States and outside foreign con-
tiguous territory at which the immigrant embarked, and if
!the immigrant proceeds on a continuous voyage to the
lUnited States, then, regardless of the time of his arrival
jin the United States, the validity of his immigration visa
shall not be considered to have expired.
"(e) The manifest or list of passengers required by the
immigration laws shall contain a place for entering thereon
the date, place of issuance, and the number of the immi-
gration visa of each immigrant. The immigrant shall sur-
render his immigration visa to the officer at the port of
1 inspection, who shall at the time of inspection indorse on
the immigration visa the date, the port of entry, and the
name of the vessel, if any, on which the immigrant arrived.
186 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
The immigration visa shall be transmitted forthwith . .
to the Department of Labor.
''(f) No immigration visa shall be issued to an immi
grant if it appears to the consular officer, from statement!
in the application, or in the papers submitted therewith
that the immigrant is inadmissible to the United States
under the immigration laws, nor shall such immigratior
visa be issued if the consular officer knows or has reason tc
believe that the immigrant is inadmissible to the UniteQ
States under the immigration laws.
''(g) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to entitle
immigrant, to whom an immigration visa has been issued
to enter the United States, if, upon arrival in the Unit
States, he is found to be inadmissible to the United Stated
under the immigration laws. The substance of this sub-
division shall be printed conspicuously upon every immi-
gration visa.
"(h) A fee of $9 shall be charged for the issuance of each
immigration visa. . .
Section 7 deals with the application for the immigration
visa. It provides as follows:
"(a) Every immigrant applying for an immigration visa
shall make application therefor in duplicate in such formi
as shall be by regulations prescribed.
"(b) In the application the immigrant shall state (1)
the immigrant's full and true name; age, sex, and race; the
date and place of birth; places of residence for the five
years immediately preceding his application ; whether mar-
ried or single, and the names and places of residence of
wife or husband and minor children, if any; calling or occu- ,
pation; personal description (including height, complexion,
color of hair and eyes, and marks of identification) ; ability
to speak, read, and write; names and addresses of parents,)
and if neither parent living, then the name and addressi
of his nearest relative in the country from which he comes;
port of entry into the United States; final destination, if
THE IMMIGRATION ACT OF 1924 187
lany, beyond the port of entry; whether he has a ticket
(through to such final destination; whether going to join a
relative or friend, and, if so, what relative or friend and his
complete name and address; the purpose for which he is
going to the United States; the length of time he intends
ito remain in the United States ; whether or not he intends
|to abide permanently in the United States; whether ever
in prison or alsmhouse ; whether he or either of his parents
has ever been in an institution or hospital for the care and
treatment of the insane; (2) if he claims to be a non-quota
immigrant, the facts on which he bases such claims; and
(3) such additional information necessary to the proper
enforcement of the immigration laws and the naturalization
laws, as may be by regulations prescribed.
''(c) The immigrant shall furnish, if available, to the
consular officer, with his application, two copies of his
'dossier' and prison record and military record, two certified
copies of his birth certificate, and two copies of all other
available public records concerning him kept by the Gov-
ernment to which he owes allegiance. One copy of the
documents so furnished shall be permanently attached to
each copy of the application and become a part thereof. . . .
''(d) In the application the immigrant shall also state
whether or not he is a member of each class of individuals
: excluded from admission into the United States under the
immigration laws, and such classes shall be stated on the
I blank in such form as shall be by regulations prescribed,
and the immigrant shall answer separately as to each class.
"(e) If the immigrant is unable to state that he does not
come within any of the excluded classes, but claims to be
ifor any legal reason exempt from exclusion, he shall state
fully in the application the grounds for such alleged ex-
emption.
"(f) Each copy of the application shall be signed by the
immigrant in the presence of the consular officer and veri-
fied by the oath of the immigrant administered by the con-
sular officer. . . .
■ "(g) In the case of an immigrant under eighteen years
188 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
of age the application may be made and verified by sucl:|
individual as shall be by regulations prescribed. 1
*'(h) A fee of $1 shall be charged for the furnishing am'
verification of each application." i
Concerning the issuance of immigration visas to relative; ^
Section 9 states: ''(b) Any citizen of the United Statefi
claiming that any immigrant is his relative, and that sucB| ^'
immigrant is properly admissible to the United States as i\
non-quota immigrant under the provisions of sub-divisiori
(a) of section 4 or is entitled to preference under sectioB;
6, may file with the Commissioner- General a petition in| If
such form as may be by regulations prescribed, stating
the petitioner's name and address; (2) if a citizen by birth |
the date and place of his birth; (3) if a naturalized citizens!
the date and place of his admission to citizenship and the!
number of his certificate, if any; (4) the name and address!
of his employer or the address of his place of business or^
occupation if he is not an employee; (5) the degree of the
relationship of the immigrant for whom such petition ig
made, and the names of all the places where such immigranti|
has resided prior to and at the time when the petition isjj ^
filed; (6) that the petitioner is able to and will support th0
immigrant if necessary to prevent such immigrant fromj ^
becoming a public charge; and (7) such additional infor- ^
mation ... as may be by regulations prescribed.^^ |
''(c) The petition shall be made under oath. , . . Appli-
cation may be made in the same petition for admission of|l
more than one individual.
"(d) The petition shall be accompanied by the state- i f'
ments of two or more responsible citizens of the Unitedt
States, to whom the petitioner has been personally knowni
for at least one year, that to the best of their knowledge! ^1
^During the fiscal year 1925 approximately 29,000 petitions from citizens! f''
were received, of which 25,002 were approved and 3,900 rejected. Theii III
petitions approved covered approximately 50,000 aliens. Report of the '
Commissioner-General of Immigration for 1925, page 10. In 1926 the
number of petitions was 23,856, of which 18,659 were approved andi,
approximately 2,000 rejected. The petitions approved covered about jj ^
30,000 aliens. Report for 1926, page 12. il ^
THE IMMIGRATION ACT OF 1924 189
and belief the statements made in the petition are true and
that the petitioner is a responsible individual able to sup-
port the immigrant or immigrants for whose admission
application is made.
''(e) If the Commissioner-General finds the facts stated
in the petition to be true, and that the immigrant in respect
of whom the petition is made is entitled to be admitted to
the United States as a non-quota immigrant ... he shall,
with the approval of the Secretary of Labor, inform the
Secretary of State of his decision, and the Secretary of State
shall then authorize the consular officer with whom the
application for the immigration visa has been filed to issue
the immigration visa or grant the preference.
"(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to entitle
an immigrant, in respect of whom a petition under this sec-
tion is granted, to enter the United States as a non-quota
immigrant, if, upon arrival in the United States, he is found
not to be a non-quota immigrant."
Two paragraphs in Section 11 contain provisions con-
cerning visas. They are as follows:
''(f) There shall be issued to quota immigrants of any
nationality (1) no more immigration visas in any fiscal
year than the quota for such nationality, and (2) in any
calendar month of any fiscal year no more immigration
visas than 10 per centum of the quota for such nationality,
except that if such quota is less than 300 the number to be
issued in any calendar month shall be prescribed by the
Commissioner-General, with the approval of the Secretary
of Labor, but the total number to be issued during the fiscal
year shall not be in excess of the quota for such nationality.
"(g) Nothing in this Act shall prevent the issuance
(without increasing the total number of immigration visas
which may be issued) of an immigration visa to an immi-
grant as a quota immigrant even though he is a non-quota
immigrant.''
Section 13 declares: "(a) No immigrant shall be ad-
mitted to the United States unless he (1) has an unexpired
190 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
immigration visa or was born subsequent to the issuance oi
the immigration visa of the accompanying parent, (2) is
of nationahty specified in the visa in the immigration visa,
(3) is a non-quota immigrant if specified in the visa in the
immigration visa as such, and (4) is otherwise admissible
under the immigration laws.
''(b) In such classes of cases and under such conditions aai
may be by regulations prescribed immigrants who have been^
legally admitted to the United States and who depart there-
from temporarily may be admitted to the United Statesi
without being required to obtain an immigration visa."
Finally, concerning unused immigration visas, Section 18|
declares: ''If a quota immigrant of any nationality having!
an immigration visa is excluded from admission to the
United States under the immigration laws and deported,
or does not apply for admission to the United States be-
fore the expiration of the validity of the immigration visa,
or if an alien of any nationality having an immigration visaii
issued to him as a quota immigrant is found not to be ai
quota immigrant, no additional immigration visa shall be
issued in lieu thereof to any other immigrant."
Such then are the provisions in the Act of 1924 con-
cerning "oversea inspection," which make it possible for
the first time in our history for the United States Govern-
ment to effectively control immigration from Europe by a
proper enforcement of our immigration laws, as well as to
enable us to reduce the hardships of the immigrants to a
minimum. These provisions are all the more important
when we recall that such a plan was first proposed as early
as 1837 by Friedrich List.^^ It is to the credit of Friedrich
List that he saw so early in our history the only clear and|
effective way of controlling the immigration tide, viz., by
regulating it at its source. If such a plan had been put into
force years ago the so-called immigration problem would
not be so big or so difficult to solve as it is today. Perhaps
no other provision of the Act of 1924 has met with such
general approval as this one.
"See Chapter II for List's recommendations, pp. 41-42.
THE IMMIGRATION ACT OF 1924
191
Under the plan as worked out and now in operation we
can go fully into the past records of the immigrants, and
can thereby learn their family history, their mental, moral,
and physical qualifications. We are now able to weed out
in advance the weaklings, the diseased, and the morons.
We come in personal touch through our consuls with each
immigrant before he leaves his native land.^"* We are able
to tell him that he can't come in since he belongs to a cer-
tain excluded class, if such is the case ; that a certain mem-
ber of his family can't enter, for a similar reason ; or that
the quota is exhausted. It is better to let him know the
truth before he departs. To do so prevents undue hard-
ships, uncertainty, and unnecessary expense to those who
come. When he is given the immigration visa he knows
that he may enter as far as the quota is concerned. While
he may be unable to pass the final inspection and medical
examination which is made at the port of entry into the
United States, yet his chances are better now than they
were before with no official overseas examination. The
number rejected at the ports of entry have been less under
the present law than formerly.^^ Such a plan has elimi-
nated the racing of steamships into the ports of entry on the
first day of each month. It has eliminated the necessity
**Iii his annual report for 1926, page 48, the Secretary of Labor stated:
"One of the outstanding achievements of the year in administration has
been the extension of the foreign service to continental Europe. Tech-
nical advisers on immigration questions are now assigned not only to
the American consulates in the United Kingdom, but also to consulates
in Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland, Germany, Norway, Denmark and
Sweden," countries which "represent approximately 90 per cent of the
total number of quota immigrants admissible to the United States." On
December 15, 1926 there were 28 officers stationed abroad doing immigra-
tion work, distributed as follows: England 4, Ireland 5, Scotland 2,
France 1, Belgium 1, Holland 1, Denmark 1, Germany 8, Norway 2,
Sweden 1, and Poland 1. At that time the Public Health Service stated
that it would be necessary to assign two relief officers to the British
Isles, Germany, and Scandinavia each. United States Daily, December
15, 1926. For further details see Hearings of the House Committee on
Immigration and Naturalization on "Methods of Examination of Aliens
Abroad"— January 21-22, 1926, No. 69.1.5.
^Out of 276,646 alien applicants applying at the port of New York
during the fiscal year 1925, 3,606, or 1.2 per cent, were rejected and
returned. Of a total of 270,074 alien applicants for admission at the
same port in 1926, only 1,544, or less than six-tenths of 1 per cent, were
excluded. Annual Report, Secretary of Labor, 1926, p. 48.
192 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
of immigrants being forced to return to Europe due toi
exhausted quotas. At the same time it gives to our consulsl
power to prevent obviously undesirable aliens from coming
to America.-^ If we wish to destroy the poison or the pol-
lution in a stream, isn't it better to deal with it at its source [
rather than to try to extract it many miles away when it i
has also defiled much water that would otherwise be satis- I
factory? !
Section 16 declares: ''It shall be unlawful for any person '
. . . to bring to the United States by water from any place ]
outside thereof (other than foreign contiguous territory)
( 1 ) any immigrant who does not have an unexpired immi- ;
gration visa, or (2) any quota immigrant having an immi- :
gration visa the visa in which specifies him as a non-quota
immigrant." The penalty for such illegal transportation
is a fine of $1,000 for each immigrant so brought, and in ;
addition a sum equal to that paid by such immigrant for his
transportation from the initial point of departure, indicated
in his ticket, to the port of arrival, such latter sum to bei
delivered by the collector of customs to the immigrant oni
whose account assessed.
. Section 22 deals with certain offenses in connection with 1
the documents, ''(a) Any person who knowingly (1) ;
forges, counterfeits, or alters, or falsely makes any immigra-
tion visa or permit, or (2) utters, uses, attempts to use,
possesses, obtains, accepts, or receives any immigration visa '
or permit, knowing it to be forged, counterfeited, altered,
or falsely made, or to have been procured by means of any
false claim or statement, or to have been otherwise pro- ,
cured by fraud or unlawfully obtained; or who, except j
under the direction of the Secretary of Labor or other!
^In his Report for 1926 the Secretary of Labor stated: "Foreign Gov- ^
ernments, however, still make the primary selection of immigrants to the
United States through their control of passport issuances. So long as we !
require passports as a necessary document for entry into the United States ||
and as a prerequisite to the securing of a visa, this primary selection of j
immigrants for the United States will be made by the foreign Govern- i!
ments concerned.
"There is not, however, at the present time the evidence of dumping
that appeared a few years ago." Quoted in United States Daily, Decem-
ber 10, 1926.
THE IMMIGRATION ACT OF 1924 193
proper official, knowingly (3) possesses any blank permit,
I (4) engraves, sells, brings into the United States, or has in
his control or possession any plate in the likeness of a
plate designed for the printing of permits, (5) makes any
print, photograph, or impression in the likeness of any im-
migration visa or permit, or (6) has in his possession a dis-
tinctive paper which has been adopted by the Secretary of
Labor for the printing of immigration visas or permits, shall
upon conviction thereof, be fined not more than $10,000, or
imprisoned for not more than five years, or both.
''(b) Any individual who (1) when applying for an im-
migration visa or permit, or for admission to the United
States, personates another, or falsely appears in the name
of a deceased individual, or evades or attempts to evade
the immigration laws by appearing under an assumed or
fictitious name, or (2) sells or otherwise disposes of, or
offers to sell or otherwise dispose of, or utters, an immigra-
tion visa or permit, to any person not authorized by law
to receive such document, shall upon conviction thereof, be
fined not more than $10,000, or imprisoned for not more
than five years, or both.
''(c) Whoever knowingly makes under oath any false
statement in any application, affidavit, or other document
required by the immigration laws or regulations prescribed
thereunder, shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined not
more than $10,000, or imprisoned for not more than five
years, or both."
These provisions have been stated in full to emphasize
their seriousness and fullness. That they are necessary
was soon evident. The following case occurred in August,
1924. Fifty Poles who were attempting to enter America,
with false passports and visas were arrested at Marseilles,
thanks to the new underwear they wore. The manufac-
turers of the false papers, which were clever enough to
deceive officials in ordinary circumstances, offered a free
union suit with the counterfeit credentials. Unfortunately
for the buyers, they were so pleased with the bargain that
they donned the underwear inamediately despite the hot
194 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
weather. When the Public Health Surgeon examined the
group of Poles he was so surprised at the fact that all wore
new union suits of the same make that he reported the fact
to an American official. This led to an examination of their
papers, which under close scrutiny were obviously
fabricated.
Another scheme to beat the immigration law was the
formation of an ''opera" company. It was discovered and
foiled by the police of Naples. A group of ingenious clan-
destine immigration agents and swindlers formed a regular
operetta company with the assistance of several bona fide
Italian artists. The progi^am and itinerary featured a tour
of North and South America. The company was to call
itself the Nuova Italia. The great size of the company,
which contained elements strangely extraneous to operatic
activities, caused the police to become suspicious and led to
its downfall. It was discovered that numerous peasants
and workmen figured in the roll of the company in various
capacities, each having paid the swindlers from $250 to
$500 for the privilege.^"^
These discoveries are illustrations of the fact that the
American consular officials must always be on guard against
faked papers, and that we must punish violators of the law
when it is possible to do so, although it is difficult to under-
stand just how or in what manner we can punish persons
guilty of such offenses abroad. If caught at Ellis Island
or any other port of entry the question must and will arise
as to whether we shall simply deport the offenders (which
would give them another opportunity to enter illegally)
or whether we shall first fine and imprison and then deport
them. In many cases, however, it would be impossible to
fine them for they have little or no money. It would seem
that the law is not quite definite and clear enough here.
It is absolutely necessary that some effective punishment
should be worked out.^^
"Taken from the Chicago Tribune, August 9, 1924.
^Before it adjourned in June, 1926 the House passed what was to have
been the Deportation Act of 1926. Due to the pressure of other legisla-
tion no action was taken in the Senate prior to the adjournment of
THE IMMIGRATION ACT OF 1924
195
Sections 19 and 20 strengthen the provisions in the Act of
1917 designed to prevent the illegal entrance of aliens as
seamen, although it is yet doubtful whether the provisions
are altogether adequate to check the evil they are designed
to remedy. Experience has demonstrated that the efforts
of Congress in the passage of acts over a period of many
years excluding undesirable aliens from the United States
have been thwarted to an alarming degree by the surrepti-
I tious entry of persons debarred by the terms of the statute.
I One of the most fruitful sources of evasion of these pro-
I visions and illegal entry has been the crews employed on
: ships entering ports of the United States. In a letter to
ithe Hon. John E. Raker, Mr. Furuseth stated: ''It is
generally understood the $1,000 is paid by the Chinese for
! being landed in the United States in such a way that he can
\ at once mingle with others of his kind ; and when we know
that vessels manned with Chinese are constantly going
away with from 10 to 40 or even 50 men less in the crew
I than they had on arrival we must realize that we are here
dealing with a temptation to shipowners and to officers of
vessels that is great enough to tempt the shipowners as
well as the officers. Again, vessels coming from Europe
(have on one trip to this country left behind them from
I 50 to 150 persons, a great many of whom would have been
j refused admission if coming as regular immigrants."
For several years there was no proper enforcement of
I the provisions in the Act of 1917 designed to deal with this
condition of affairs, due to a weakness in section 32. The
flaw was that the shipmaster, although required to detain
inadmissible seamen, could not be punished for failure to
detain unless it was shown that he had notice in writing so
to do. Notice in writing anterior to the breach of respon-
sibility to detain was physically impossible.
Congress, March 4, 1927. See Hearinr^s No. 69.1.11 of the House Com-
mittee on Immigration and Naturalization, March 25, 26, April 13, 1926
on "Deportation of Alien Criminals, gunmen, narcotic dealers, defectives
etc.," for much information concerning the necessity for additional legis-
lation on deportation.
'"Congressional Record, Monday, June 23, 1924, p. 11637.
196 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
In an apparent effort not to impair in any way the lib-
erty accorded to seamen under the Act of March 4, 1915,
commonly known as the LaFollette Law, and at the same
time, not to impose regulations so onerous as to cripple
the free movement of shipping, and possibly arouse retal-
iatory legislation abroad. Congress in sections 19 and 20
evolved provisions which have proved inadequate to correct
the evils they were designed to cure. As a result they
have been subject to much criticism since their enactment.
Unquestionably, however, they have helped to give effect
to the general principles upon which the law is based.
Furthermore, they can be made effective by additional legis-
lation.^^ Section 19 provides that ''no alien seaman ex-
cluded from admission to the United States, under the
immigration laws and employed on board any vessel arriv-
ing in the United States from any place outside thereof,
shall be permitted to land in the United States, except tem-
porarily for medical treatment, or pursuant to such regula-
tions as the Secretary of Labor may prescribe for the ulti-
mate departure, removal, or deportation of such alien from
the United States."
Section 20, sub-section (a) provides that "the owner,
charterer, agent, consignee, or master of any vessel arriv-
ing in the United States from any place outside thereof
who fails to detain on board any alien seaman employed
on such vessel until the immigration officer in charge at
the port of arrival has inspected such seaman . . ., or who
fails to detain such seaman on board after such inspection
or to deport such seamen if required by such immigration
officer or the Secretary of Labor to do so, shall pay to the
collector of customs of the customs district in which the
port of arrival is located the sum of $1,000 for each alien
seaman in respect to whom such failure occurs." Sub-
section (b) provides that "proof that an alien seaman did
'"In his report for 1925, the Commissioner-General stated: ''While the
provision in question has proved decidedly helpful, reports received from
seaport stations indicate that the door through which aliens are unlaw-
fully entering in the guise of seamen swings altogether too widely open
for the welfare of the country." Page 22.
THE IMMIGRATION ACT OF 192 197
> not appear upon the outgoing manifest of the vessel on
h which he arrived in the United States . . . shall be prima
le facie evidence of a failure to detain or deport after re-
e quirement by the immigration officer or the Secretary of
I- 1 Labor."
l[ Concerning this, the Report of the Commissioner-Gen-
t'eral of Immigration for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30,
i\ 1924, stated:
"Closely allied to border running is the illegal entry of
[ alleged seamen who come to United States ports as mem-
, bers of ships' crews and, taking advantage of shore privi-
leges granted under the law, desert the vessels bringing
them and remain in the country. Bona fide seamen have a
legal right to go ashore in any port, and under our laws are
free to leave their vessels for the purpose of reshipping
foreign. In fact this is the natural and inherent right of
i seagoing men which even the immigration law recognizes
il and respects."
The deserting seaman method of gaining illegal entry
I has been practiced to some extent ever since immigration
laws began to interfere with the unrestricted coming of
aliens, but under the quota law, and especially during the
past few years, such violations have grown to rather alarm-
ing proportions. This fact is strikingly illustrated in the
following figures, showing the number of reported deser-
tions in United States ports in each year since 1911:
Fiscal year ending June 30
Number
deserting
seamen
reported
Fiscal year ending June 30
Number
deserting
seamen
reported
1911
6,594
6,384
9,136
9,747
6,458
6,584
8,572
4,756
1919
3.388
13,543
21,839
5,879
23,194
34,679
19,710
18,456
1912
1920
1913
1921
1914
1922
1915
1923
1916
1924
1917
1925
1918
1926
Taken from annual reports of the Commissioner-General of Immi-
gration,
198 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
During the 12 years 1911 to 1922, inclusive, the annua'
average number of desertions was 8,573, and this period in
eluded the abnormal years of 1920 and 1921, when oceai,*
transportation suffered what almost amounted to a coll
lapse. In the two fiscal years referred to hundreds upoij
hundreds of ocean-going ships of all nations were tied up iij
harbors of the United States and other countries with th(j
result that thousands of alien seamen were left stranded ir
our ports. In view of this it is hardly fair to count the ex\
cessive numbers in these two years as desertions, for manj
thousands of them were simply stranded here, and, as stateC|
in the annual report for 1922, the Immigration Bureau wa^
deluged with requests to deport or in some way to returrl
them to their home countries.
This has not been the situation since then, however!
and the only reasonable explanation of the great increase iri
desertions is that men who could not come into the country
in a legal way, largely because of quota restrictions, signecj
on vessels in foreign ports as seamen and in that guisd
gained admission by taking illegal advantage of the shore
liberty which the seaman's act rightfully accords to all
bona fide followers of the sea.
*'To construct legislation which will enable the Immigra-
tion Service to prevent the unlawful entry of aliens in the
guise of seamen without interfering with the legal and in-
herent shore privileges of bona fide seamen is a difficult if j
not impossible task. It is hoped, however, that certain j
provisions of the immigration act of 1924, . . . will afford '
some relief in this regard. The evident purpose of this new '
legislation is to avoid infringement on the rights assured ;
to bona fide seamen under the present seamen's act, but at i
the same time to make it possible to refuse shore privileges
to intending immigrants who have taken this means of get-
ting into the country. The hope of accomplishment lieS;
in the authority given immigration officers to order the
detention of pretending seamen on board vessels bringing
them to a United States port and their deportation on the|
same vessel, the penalty for failure to so detain and deport|
THE IMMIGRATION ACT OF 1924
199
mng fixed at $1,000 for each alien seaman in respect of
Ivhom such failure occurs.
"The full effect of this provision of law cannot be fore-
seen, but the outlook is promising, and if its enforcement
esults in a more careful selection of crews in foreign ports
vith the purpose to avoid shipping men who are immigrants
instead of seamen, it is believed that much good will be
iccomplished."
Section 23 places the burden of proof upon the alien to
< Drove that he is not subject to exclusion under any pro-
vision of the immigration laws. In any deportation the
:>urden of proof is also placed upon the alien to show that
le entered the United States lawfully and is not for any
jause subject to such deportation, although in presenting
such proof he is entitled to the production of his immigra-
tion visa, if any, or other documents concerning his entry,
in the custody of the Department of Labor.
The reason for this provision was stated in the report of
the House Committee as follows: "An alien seeking to
enter the United States should not stand mute, but should
1 . . .....
assist the Government by showing admissibility if he can.
iNo longer should admissibility be presumed until the Gov-
ernment can marshal its forces to prove inadmissibility. An
alien remains within the country not by right, but by suf-
iferance."
,1 In referring to the standing mute of aliens the commit-
tee doubtless had in mind the important decision of the
Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in the case
of an ex-president of Venezuela.^^
The Commissioner-General of Immigration in his report
for 1919 called attention to the serious situation that ex-
! "Quoted from annual report of Commissioner-General of Immigration
'for 1924. For detailed information on the subject see Hearings of the
House Committee on Immigration and Naturalization No. 69.1.5 Janu-
ary 21 and 22, 1926 on "Deportation of Alien Seamen." See also Sup-
plementary Hearing No. 69.1.15, May 14, 1926. The deportation bill
passed by the House June 7, 1926 contained provisions designed to remedy
the evasions of -these sections of the immigration law.
House Report 350, 68th Congress, 1st Session.
United States ex rel. Castro v. Williams, 203 Fed. 155.
200
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
isted in this respect. He stated: ^'A nation, no more thai'
a man, should be placed in a position where an outside
can demand the opening of the door without giving a ful
account of himself and showing that he is a fit persoi;
to enjoy the hospitality that he seeks." j
Section 25 declares, ^The provisions of this Act are ii'
addition to and not in substitution for the provisions oi
the immigration laws, and shall be enforced as a part o|
such laws. ... An alien, although admissible under th<|
provisions of this act, shall not be admitted to the Uniteci
States if he is excluded by any provision of the immigratiori
laws other than this act, and an alien, although admissiblt:
under the provisions of the Immigration laws other thaiij
this act, shall not be admitted to the United States i:.
he is excluded by any of the provisions of this Act." \
The bill passed the House on April 12 by a vote of 32c:
to 71 with 38 not voting. It passed the Senate April 18 b>
an even larger majority, the vote being 62 to 6 with 28 no1
voting. The President received it on May 19 and signec
it on May 26, 1924. While an analysis of the vote reveals
the fact that the fight was not a partisan one, 33 Republi-
cans and 37 Democrats voting in the House against the
bill becoming law, nevertheless the vote also reveals the
fact that races will stick together and that the foreign ele-
ment in this country has power in Congress. Representa-
tives voting against the measure were from the following
States: New York, 24; New Jersey, 9; Massachusetts, 8;
Pennsylvania and Illinois, 6 each; Connecticut, 5; Rhode
Island and Michigan, 3 each; while the other votes were
scattered.
The population in four of these states according to the census of 192C
was as follows:
New York
Total Population
Native born of native parents
10,385,227
3,668,266
New Jersey
Total Population
Native born of native parents
3,155,900
1,212,675
as
Page 290.
THE IMMIGRATION ACT OF 1924 201
' Massachusetts
Total Population 3,852,356
Native bom of native parents 1,230,773
Connecticut
Total Population 1,380,631
Native bom of native parents 449,206
Nearly one-half of the no votes came from five cities — ■
namely, New York, Chicago, Boston, Cleveland and De-
troit. In three of these five — New York, Chicago, and
^Cleveland — races of south and east Europe now are the
'dominant foreign-born nationalities. In Detroit the Poles
'have reached second place; in Boston, Russians and
Italians are steadily displacing the Irish. The most in-
teresting fact, perhaps, is that eighteen of the no votes
came from New York City, where only one person in five
is native born of native parents.
According to Congressman Albert Johnson, the sources of
opposition were and still are: ^'(1) Those who believe that
the law is not sufficiently restrictive. For the most part
J this opposition was not a stumbling block,
f "(2) Those who believe that the law does not admit
[enough common laborers to do the rough work of the
I United States.
I "(3) Those who, while pretending to favor restriction,
j really want anybody and everybody except the insane, the
; criminal and the diseased, so that they may proceed to reap
. dividends from their particular lines of endeavor, whether
f the lines be mills, factories, steamships, newspapers of vari-
f ous languages, or the like, in addition to bondsmen, somo
lawyers, common crooks, and others who daily exploit the
I newly arrived alien.
"(4) Those of an international mind, who think that
1 migrations should not be impeded, except possibly from
China, Korea, Japan and India.
"(5) Those who for religious, racial, or family reasons
' desire more of their own to be residents of the United
States. This source of opposition was and is very great,
202 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
coming chiefly from the Jewish, Italian and Catholic ele i
ments in our country. '
*'(6) Those who have been led to believe that the Unitec
States can go throughout the world handpicking brick
layers here, plasterers there, gardeners elsewhere an(j
farmers at another place, and bring them, without though]
of families, to our States; in other words, selection, distri*!
bution and supervision." ;
''See Fairchild, Immigration, rev. ed., pp. 434-450 for the argument^
u?ed by the opponents of restriction.
CHAPTER VIII
Back to 1890 ^
.''hb history and characteristics of the "old" and the "new" immigra-
ion — The Italian immigrants — The Slavs — The Russian immigrants —
The Jewish immigration — Views of various authorities on immigration —
The test of naturalization — The army tests — Report of Dr. H. H. Laughlin
kf the Carnegie Institute — Analysis of the quotas based on the census of
flsQO — The criticism of discrimination is without foundation — Census of
890 creates equalization rather than discrimination — The National Origins
^lan.
At the preseni time European immigration to the United
States may be divided into two groups, the ^^old" and the
'new." The ''old" immigration has extended from the be-
ginning of our colonial and national history to the present
time and has been and still is derived chiefly from Great
Britain and Ireland, Germany, Holland, and the Scandina-
v^ian countries. Since practically all the immigrants to 1890
belonged to this ''old" immigration, they were predomi-
nantly Anglo-Saxon-Germanic in blood and Protestant in
religion — of the same stock as that which originally settled
the United States, wrote our Constitution and established
our democratic institutions. The English, Dutch, Swedes,
iGermans, and even the Scotch-Irish, who constituted prac-
tically the entire immigration prior to 1890, were less than
two thousand years ago one Germanic race in the forests^
surrounding the North Sea. Thus, being similar in blood
and in political ideals, social training and economic back-
ground, this "old" immigration has merged with the native
*In this chapter it is the purpose of the author merely to set forth and
analyze the factors and views that have resulted in the opposition to the
"new" immigration — views which controlled Congress in the drafting of
the Act of 1924. It is not the author's purpose to judge as to the truth-
fulness of the facts set forth by those opposed to the ''new" immigration.
203
204 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
stock fairly easily and rapidly. Assimilation has alwajj ^
been only a matter of time and this has been aided by th ?
economic, social and political conditions of the countr t'
Even though those already here objected at times to otheij ^
coming in, yet once in they have soon become Americaim P
so assimilated as to be indistinguishable from the nativesj! t"
for this old immigration has consisted almost wholly q| ?
families who have come to this country with the full intenl
tion of making it their home and of becoming Americail
citizens. It was this immigration that aided so much in thii
development of agriculture in the great Central West ain|
in the construction of our incomparable transportation sy&
tem. Furthermore, in comparison with the recent "new;
immigration, it has always been small in volume, while th^
abundance of free land in the past, our need of pioneeri
and the willingness of these "old" type immigrants to g(
into the West and settle on the land, prevented the rise d
many serious problems. |
In the period centering about the year 1880, and in par
ticular in the decade 1880-1890, there was a distinct shifl
in the immigration movement. Whereas before 1890 most
of our immigrants were Anglo-Saxons and Teutons fronl
Northern Europe, since 1890 and prior to the quota legisi
1 lation in 1924 the great majority were members of thti
. Mediterranean and Slavic races from Southern, EasterrI
and Southeastern Europe. The great bulk of this ''new'|
immigration has its sources in Russia, Poland, Austriai^
Hungary, Greece, Turkey, Italy, and the Balkan countries'
It is this "new" immigration which constitutes the immi-
gration problem of today. Its solution challenged our at-
tention.
That such a change has occurred can be clearly indicated|
by figures. |
The total number of immigrants into the United Statee
from Western Europe between 1871 and 1880 was 2,080,266
while the total from southern and eastern Europe was onlyi
181,638. But between 1901 and 1910 the total from the
former was 2,007,119, while the number from southern and
BACK TO 1890
205
eastern Europe increased to 6,128,897. Thus, while immir
gration from western Europe was almost the same for the
two decades, that from southern and eastern Europe in-
creased from 181,000 to over 6,000,000. During the former
period immigration from the latter portion constituted
only 9 per cent of the total from Europe, while in the
iperiod from 1901 to 1910 it was about 75 per cent. The
following table will illustrate the point still further, show-
jing the gradual decrease of the old and the rapid increase
lof the new immigration :
Eight years (1882-1889) :
Old immigration 3,019,6C6
New immigration 708.357
Total 3,728,053
Seven years (1890-1896):
Old immigration 1,652,797
1 New immigration 1,194,189
Total 2,846,986
Eighteen years (1897-1914) :
Old immigration 2,983,548
New immigration 10,057,576
Total 13,041,124
Total old immigration (1882-1914) 7,566,041
Total new immigration (1882-1914) 11,960,122
! Total immigration from Europe, old and new (1882-1914) 19,526,163
The relative proportion of the old and new immigration
[groups is as follows: (Under the ''old" immigration are
I classified all immigrants from the United Kingdom, Ger-
imany, France, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Switzer-
land and Sweden, while under the "new" immigration are
included those from Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, Greece,
Czechoslovakia, Italy, Jugoslavia, Poland, Russia, Finland,
Spain, Portugal, Rumania and Turkey) :
Decades
Old Immigration
New Immigration
1860-1870
98.4
1.6
1870-1880
91.6
8.4
l ^SO-1890
80.2
19.8
lsi)0-1900
48.4
51.6
1900-1910
23.3
76.7
1910-1920
22 8
77.2
1920-1922
36.8
63.2
206
BACK TO 1890
207
Under the 3 per cent law of 1921 the old immigration was
entitled to 56.33 per cent, while the new immigration had
44.64 per cent. Under the new law of 1924 the respective
percentages are 84.11 and 14.88. We shall discuss these
facts later in the chapter. It is important to note here,
however, that the quota laws have changed the relative pro-
portions radically, so that now they are about what they
were prior to 1890.
The summary of arrivals from 1819 to 1919 according to
the sources of immigration were as follows:
Country
Total
Per cent, of
Immigration
Total
8,205,675
24.7
i Germany
5,494,539
16.6
Italy
4,100,740
12.4
4,068,448
12.3
1 Russia
3,311,400
10.0
2,134,414
6.4
5,884,887
17.6
It is to be noted that practically all the immigrants from
Italy, Austria-Hungary and Russia have come in since 1890.
Immigrants from these countries were practically negli-
igible until 1882. Italy sent 32,160 in 1882, a maximum of
77,647 in 1903, and 29,391 in 1914. Russia sent 21,590 in
1882, a maximum of about 291,000 in 1913, and 255,660
lin 1914. Austria-Hungary sent 27,935 in 1881, a maximum
lof 338,452 in 1907, and 278,152 in 1914. Scandinavia
laveraged approximately 50,000 per year from 1869 to
1914, with extremes of 11,274 in 1877 and 105,326 in
1882.
I Indeed, more than half the approximate 35,000,000 immi-
Igrants who have come to our shores since 1820 have come
iwithin the last thirty-five years. The peak of immigration
was reached in the decade preceding the World War when
in the years 1905, 1906, 1907, 1910, 1913 and 1914 more
than a million immigrants landed each year, while immi-
Igration averaged about 800,000 for each year not men-
tioned.
Immigration to the United States of Northern and Western European
Races and Southern and Eastern European Races, 1899 to 1923*
1895 1900 1905 1910 1915 1920 1925
1,300,000
i.2oaooo
U 00,000
1895 1900 1905
1915 19?0 1925
* From Eleventh Annual Report of the Secretary of Labor for the fiscal
year ended June 30, 1923.
208
BACK TO 1890 209
During the years 1899 to 1923 the total immigration may
be summarized thus :
General Race Classes.
[For years earlier than 1899 figures are not available.]
Year
Northern
and
western
Europe
Eastern and
southern
Europe
(including
Hebrew)
Southern
American
Oriental
Other
races
All races
1899
100,187
203,890
1,791
5,070
777
311,715
1900
11(5.454
314!o7l
3,114
13,958
975
448,'572
1901
128^924
348,100
2,330
7,768
796
487.918
1902
162,840
464,795
3,771
16,198
1,139
648^743
1903
236!l05
589^708
5,905
22^880
2,448
857',046
247,066
532,969
8,866
20,874
3,095
812,870
1905
288,295
705,475
10,692
18,066
3,971
1,026,499
1906
269,936
801,054
8,793
16,126
4,826
1,100,735
1907
281,322
956,019
8,007
32,705
7,296
1,285,349
1908
233,235
512,882
11,178
19,417
6,158
782,870
1909
209,418
510,168
20,885
5,464
5,851
751,786
276,272
727,431
23,141
6,369
8,357
1,041,570
269,701
567,431
24,992
6,407
10,056
878,587
1912
232,404
559,738
27,630
7,978
10,422
838,172
1913
271,419
889,627
16,587
10,576
9,683
1,191,892
1914
253,855
921,160
19,568
11,619
12,278
1,218,480
1915
142,168
148,798
16,885
11,306
7,543
326,700
1916
127,990
128,214
23,469
11,184
7,969
298,826
122,927
127,545
23,822
11,031
10,078
295,403
42,892
27,991
21,744
11,954
6,037
110,618
1919
71,202
17,628
34,328
11,898
6,076
141,132
1920
165,871
184,903
58,032
11,059
9,536
430,001
1921
206,995
537,144
36.004
11,962
13,123
805,228
1922
129,434
141,621
21,366
11,137
5,998
309,556
1923
274,507
162,095
67,51;:;
9,986
8,218
522,919
Total
4,863,419
11,081,057
500,413
323,592
162,706
16,929,107
However, the net immigration was not so great by about
a third, as may be seen from the table on page 210.
Let us note briefly the characteristics of the new immi-
grants. The immigrants from Italy have differed from
those from Russia, Austria-Hungary and Ireland in that
they have not been driven forth by the oppression of the
dominant race, but as a result of the economic and political
conditions of a united people. This does not exclude op-
pression as a cause of expatriation, but it transfers the
oppression from that of one race to that of one class upon
another. By far the larger portion of Italian immigration
has come a>id still comes from the southern provinces and
from Sicily, where the power of the landlords is greatest.
210
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
Immigration and Emigration, and Net Gain or Loss, 1908 to 1923,
BY Race*
(Figures for Emigration are not of Record for Earlier Period.)
Race
African
Armenian
Bohemian and Moravian
(Czech)
Bulgarian, Serbian and Mon-
tenegrin
Chinese
Croatian and Slovenian
Cuban
Dalmatian, Bosnian, and
Herzegovinian
Dutch and Flemish
East Indian
English
Finnish
French
German
Greek
Hebrew
Irish
Italian (North)
Italian (South)
Japanese
Korean
Lithuanian
Magyar
Mexican
Pacific Islands
Polish
Portuguese
Rumanian
Russian
Ruthenian (Russniak)
Scandinavian
Scotch
Slovak
Spanish
Spanish American
Syrian
Turkish
Welsh
West Indian (except Cuban)
Other Peoples
Not Specified
Total 9,949,740
Immigra-
tion
Emigra-
tion
Net
Gain
Ppr ppn f
TT.rnioprn -
-1— iXi-lIgX CX
f 1 nn nf
Immigra-
tion
103,045
22,478
80,567
22
58,606
8,955
49,651
15
77,737
14,951
62,786
19
104,808
92,886
11,922
89
36,693
47,607
— 10,914
130
225,914
114,766
111,148
51
41,439
24,037
17,402
58
30,690
8,904
21,786
29
141,064
24,903
116,161
18
6,123
2,126
3,997
35
706,681
146,301
560,380
21
105,342
30,890
74,452
29
304,240
62,538
241,702
21
669,564
119,554
550,010
18
366,454
168,847
197,607
46
958,642
52,034
906,608
5
432,668
46,211
386,457
11
401,921
147,334
254,587
37
1,624,353
969,754
654,599
60
125,773
41,781
83,992
33
1,358
995
363
73
137,716
34,605
103,111
25
226,818
149,319
77,499
66
356,536
68,713
287,823
19
192
58
134
30
788,957
318,210
470,747
40
128,527
39,527
89,000
31
95,689
63,126
32,563
66
210,321
110,282
100,039
52
171,823
28,996
142,827
17
448,846
97,920
350,926
22
301,075
38,600
262,475
13
225,033
127,593
97,440
57
153,218
61,086
92,132
40
30,408
11,488
18,920
38
59,260
14,376
44,884
24
13,147
11,330
1,817
86
26,152
3,376
22,776
13
18,761
8,475
10,286
45
34,146
15,608
18,538
46
147,645
— 147,645
9,949,740
3,498,185
6,451,555
35
* From I']lev'enth Annual Report of Secretary of Labor for the fiscal yea;
ended June 30, 1923.
BACK TO 1890
211
The prosperity of the landlords is extracted from the miser-
: able wages of their laborers, whose cost of living does not,
j however, correspond with the low wages. In addition to
i the economic and political causes of pressure, there is an-
' other cause of a more profound nature, the rapid growth of
population. The very poverty of Italy increases the tend-
ency to a high birth-rate and the rate is highest in the very
1 districts where illiteracy and poverty are greatest. Thus
' early marriages and large families are both a result and a
cause of poverty. Emigration is the only immediate relief
for such a condition. All other remedies which operate
through raising the intelligence and the standards of living
i require years for appreciable results, but meanwhile the
I persistent birth-rate crowds new competitors into the new
1' openings and multiplies the need of economic and political
reforms before they can be put into effect. While emigra-
tion is thus a relief ready at hand, it is not a lessening of
population, an important fact to be considered in our re-
striction of immigration. Emigration is also a means of
revenue for the mother country. Many millions of dollars
are sent back each year to families and relatives, while
many immigrants return with what to them is a fortune
in order to purchase and improve a farm and cottage for
their declining years. It is for the most part these tem-
rporary immigrants into the United States whom it is impos-
Isible to assimilate or to Americanize.
There are two kinds of emigration from Italy, almost as
. entirely distinct from each other as the emigration from
two separate nations. The north Italian is an educated,
skilled artisan, coming from a manufacturing section and
largely from the cities. He is Teutonic in blood and ap-
pearance. The South Italian is virtually an illiterate
peasant from the great landed estates, with wages less
than one-third that of his northern compatriot. The North
Italians have not come to the United States in any con-
siderable numbers. They have gone to Argentina, Uru-
jguay, and Brazil in about the same numbers as the South
212 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
Italians have come to us.^ The reason for this seems to be
obvious. With their higher standards of living the North
Italians have not desired to come here to compete with
the low standards of the South Italians any more than
American laborers or immigrants from Northern and West-
ern Europe desire to or can compete with them. Thus,;
while the North Italians have gone to South America we
have received the South Italians, ''who are nearly the most
illiterate of all immigrants at the present time, the most
subservient to superiors, the lowest in their standards of
living and at the same time the most industrious and
thrifty of all common laborers." ^
The immigration prior to the World War from that part
of Europe which constituted the Austro-Hungarian Empire,
unlike the Italians, was composed of a congeries of races
and languages distinct from one another. With the break-
ing up of the Empire most of these races have been given
each its own quota of immigrants into the United States.
But the significance of this immigration is revealed only
when we analyze it by races. Prior to the World War the
race map of this Empire showed the most complicated
social mosaic of all modern nations and as far as present
day immigration is concerned the same situation exists
despite the break up of the empire. Prior to the war there
existed a juxtaposition of hostile races and a fixity of lan-
guage held together only by the outside pressure of the
powerful neighboring nations. This conflict of races aggra-
vated the conditions which caused millions to emigrate.
Not only were there five grand divisions of the human
family — the German, the Slav, the Magyar, the Latin, and
the Jew — within what was formerly Austria-Hungary, but
these had to be sub-divided to really understand the situa-
tion. In the northern mountainous and hilly sections were
the Slavic peoples, the Czechs, or Bohemians, with their
closely related Moravians, and the Slavic Slovaks, Poles,
*See Commons, Races and Immigrants in America (new edition), p. 78.
Chapter IV, "Nineteenth Century Additions," should be read in this con-
nection.
^ Commons, oj). cit., p. 79.
BACK TO 1890 213
and Ruthenians (Russniaks) ; while in the southern hills
aiitl along the Adriatic were other Slavs, the Croatians,
.Servians, Dalmatians, and Slovenians. Between these divi-
,sions were the two dominant races, the Magyars and the
:, Germans. To the southwest was the Italian element and
I in the east were the Latinized Slavs, the Rumanians. In
[general the Slavs were the conquered peoples, being domi-
' nated by the Germans and Magyars. The northern Slavs
were subject to Austria and Hungary. The Ruthenians
suffered a double subjection, being serfs of their fellow-
Slavs, the Poles, whom they hate. The Southern Slavs and
Rumanians were subject to Hungary. In general it may be
said that the Slavic immigrant furnishes a most difficult
problem in assimilation due to the fact that his past, his cus-
toms and his inherited traditions make change slow.
''With all of this confusing medley of races, with its
, diversity of Greek and Roman Catholicism and Judaism,
with its history of race oppression and hatred, with its
•almost universal serfdom and low standards of living, it is
not surprising that in America the different races should
group and settle together and often break out into factions
and feuds wherever thrown together among us." ^
For, from such a conglomeration of races it is impossible
that political and social entanglements and difficulties
/ should not arise. Coming in millions it has been impossible
to even begin to assimilate and Americanize them. Practi-
cally the entire immigration has been that of peasants. As
in other countries of low standards, the number of births
in this section of Europe is large in proportion to the
, inhabitants. Thus poverty, ignorance, inequality and help-
lessness all play their part in producing a very high birth-
rate. The result has been the emigration to America of
many whose low standards of living, whose ignorance and
racial hatreds have made it impossible for us under present
conditions to assimilate and have marked them, in the
: minds of those who favor immigration restriction, along
y with the Italians and Russians, as undesirable immigrants.
I * Commons, op. cit., p. 82.
214 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
The significant fact concerning Russian immigration is
that less than five per cent of it has been Russian and the
rest non-Russian. ^'The Russian peasant has been and
probably is the most oppressed of the peasants of Europe. I
He is also probably the most ignorant and degraded. He'
has been so tied to the soil by his system of communism,
his burden of taxes and debt and his subjection to auto-'
cratic rule, that he has been until recently immune to the
fever of emigration." ^ During the past few years in the!
face of starvation and famine million-s have migrated to
other parts of Europe. Millions more have wanted to do
likewise. However, the races which have abandoned Rus-i
sia in the last thirty years or more have been driven forthi
primarily because they refused to submit to the policyj
which would by force assimilate them to the language oit
religion of the dominant race, among whom have been the
Jews, the Poles, the Lithuanians, the Finns, and some Ger-i
mans who settled east of the Volga river over a centuryj
ago by invitation of Catherine II. The Poles and Lithu-j
anians are Slavic peoples, while the Finns are a Teutoniq
people with a Mongol language. Due to changes resulting
from the World War, each of these races with the exceptiori
of the Jewish, has its own quota of immigrants who mayi
enter the United States. But the conditions in this part of
Europe, which have marked these races as undesirable
immigrants continue at the present time, and are similar
to those which have created the belief that immigrants
from what was formerly Austria-Hungary are undesirable
Most of the present Jewish immigration is from Russia
and what is not from there comes from adjoining territory
which has been the case for thirty years or more. Durin^
American history Jewish immigration has come here frorr
all countries of Europe, the first recorded immigratior
being that of Dutch Jews, driven from Brazil by the Por-
tuguese and received by the Dutch government of Ne\^
Amsterdam. Quite a large number of Portuguese anc
Spanish Jews have come to America by way of Holland
"Commons, op. cit., p. 87.
BACK TO 1890
215
The great influx of German Jews followed the Napoleonic
wars and reached its height at the middle of the century.
Under the Catholic polity following the Crusades the
Jew had no rights and he could therefore gain protection
only through the personal favor of emperor, king or feudal
lord. The sovereigns of Europe protected the Jews in
order to exact large sums of money from their profits as
usurers and traders. The Jews, being thus utilized like
sponges to draw from the subjects illicit taxes, became the
lobject of persecution when the people gained power over
'their sovereigns^ Only in Germany and other parts of the
Holy Roman Empire where political confusion prevailed
were the emperor and petty sovereigns able to continue
their protection of the Jews. There was only one country,
'^Poland, in the center of Europe, where the kings invited the
Jews and hither the persecuted race fled from the Russians
, in the east and later from the Germans in the west. How-
ever, Poland was soon divided between Russia, Prussia and
I Austria and the persecutions continued. The popular
hatred of the Jews in Europe has been stirred at times to a
frenzy by yellow journals. There is reason to believe that
in the past the Russian government has encouraged this
popular antipathy toward the Jewish race for the sake
of diverting the indignation of the masses from itself. It
I is certain that the attitude of the government has been
, most hostile toward the Jews. It is true, therefore, that
, they have been subject to much oppression in Russia in
I the last fifty years and since the World War their suffering
, has been great, although it has hardly been worse than
j that of the Armenians. It is partly due to these oppres-
! sions that so many Jews desire to come to America. How-
ever, the present quota law based on the census of 1890
has resulted in a drastic reduction of the Jewish immigra-
tion since it is largely from Russia and adjoining territory.
I It is for this reason that the Jews in America, especially
I in the eastern states, are for the most part bitterly opposed
\ to the present quota legislation.*
*It is impossible here to siudy in detail the merits of the Jewish im-
216 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
Let us analyze the views of some of the leading authori
ties on immigration to see what they say concerning thr
*'new" immigration.* i
In his discussion of the change in the character of Euro^
pean immigration since 1890, Professor Commons says:i
. ''A line drawn across the Continent of Europe from nortlj
east to south west, separating the Scandinavian peninsular!
the British Isles, Germany, and France from Russi^
Austria-Hungary, Italy, and Turkey, separates countries no!
only of distinct races but also of distinct civilizations. It
separates Protestant Europe from Catholic Europe ; it sepa-,
rates countries of representative institutions and populaij
government from absolute monarchies; it separates landd
where education is universal from lands where illiteracy
predominates; it separates manufacturing countries, pros
gressive agriculture, and skilled labor from primitive hanc
J industries, backward agriculture, and unskilled labor; i1
V separates an educated, thrifty peasantry, from a peasantry!
scarcely a single generation removed from serfdom; it sepa-'
rates Teutonic races from Latin, Slav, Semitic, and Mon-|
golian races. When the sources of American immigration!
are shifted from the Western countries so nearly allied td
our own, to Eastern countries so remote in the main at-
tributes of Western civilization, the change is one thatj
should challenge the attention of every citizen. Such a
, change has occurred." ^
In his ''History of the American People," 'Woodrowi
Wilson stated : 'The census of 1890 showed the population'j
of the country increased to 62,622,250, an addition of 12,-
466,467 within the decade. Immigrants poured steadily in|
as before, but with an alteration of stock which students ofl
affairs marked with uneasiness. Throughout the century
migration from Russia. Much literature, pro and con, exists on the sub-
ject. It is evident, however, that the present restrictions against them
mark the end to the United States being an asylum for the oppressed of
any and all countries.
* The author has tried to select statements which reflect the views and
set forth the arguments used by the restrictionists in recent years, which
had weight with Congress, without regard to the merits thereof. i
•Commons, op. ext., pp. 69-70. 'Vol. V, p. 212. ||
T
BACK TO 1890 217
nen of the sturdy stocks of the north of Europe had made
ip the main strain of foreign blood which was every year
idded to the vital working force of this country or else
iTien of the Latin-Galhc stocks of France and northern
|[taly, but now there came multitudes of men of the lower
plass from the south of Italy and men of the meaner sort
[3ut of Hungary and Poland — men out of the ranks where
there was neither skill nor energy nor any initiative of
quick intelligence^ — and they came in numbers which in-
creased from year to year, as if the countries of the south
Df Europe were disburdening themselves of the more sordid
f^and hapless elements of their population, the men whose
istandards of life and of work were such as American work-
men had never dreamed of hitherto.
'The people of the Pacific coast had clamored these many
years against the admission of immigrants out of China,
and in May, 1892, got at least what they wanted — a Fed-
eral statute which practically excluded from the United
States all Chinese who had not already acquired the right
of residence ; and yet the Chinese were more to be desired,
as workmen if not as citizens, than most of the coarse crew
that came crowding in every year at the eastern ports."
Speaking in the Senate ® in favor of the literacy test, Mr.
Elihu Root of New York State said: ^'I think there is a
general and well founded feeling that we have been taking
in immigrants from the Old World in recent years rather
more rapidly than we have been assimilating them. They
[have been coming in rather more rapidly than they have
been acquiring American habits of thought and the Ameri-
can spirit of government.
"The specific reason why I think this educational quali-
fication will, as a whole, be a great advantage is that it will
especially affect a very large immigration from southeastern
Europe, which has in recent years furnished the unassimi-
lated element, this element which is difficult for us to
tassimilate, and which when it gets here is cut off from the
general sentiment and opinion of the country.''
"April 18, 1912.
I
218
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
In his report to the Senate ^ recommending the emergenc;'
quota legislation of 1921, Senator Dillingham stated: "Thi
new immigration coming almost wholly from southern an(
eastern Europe differs in character from the old immigra;
tion in that substantially 70 per cent of it, as a whole, con
sists of males, and substantially 86 per cent of the malei;
are living single lives, being unmarried or having left theiil
wives in Europe. They come to the United States no'
so much for the purpose of remaining here and making
homes as to seek profitable employment at the seats o:'
our great basic industries. ...
'The committee does not look upon normal immigratior'
from northern and western Europe as in any sense a prob
lem. Such immigration has from the beginning been to i
large extent one of families; they have come to the Unitec
States with the intention of remaining and making homes ;
they have distributed themselves throughout the Unitec
States, have become property owners, are interested in all
local and national problems, and are also readily assimi-
lated into the body of American citizenship. . . . Unlike
the older immigration which distributed itself to every part
of the country, entered every branch of activity and was
as a rule, quickly and thoroughly assimilated, the new
immigration has consisted largely of single men, it has gone
directly to the cities and to the manufacturing centers, and
has remained there. It has moved in racial groups and to
a large extent has maintained them, and compared with
the older immigration it, as a rule, shows a slighter tend-
ency to become American citizens and the number who have
gone to the land have been negligible.
''The committee are of the opinion that in the present
emergency a restriction should be applied to the type last
described and are convinced that such restriction should be
accomplished through some measure that will insure defi-
nite effectiveness."
In an article, 'The Menace of the Open Door," Profes-
" Senate Report No. 17, pp. 3-8, U. S. 67th Congress, 1st Session, April j
28, 1921. I
I BACK TO 1890 219
uor E. A. Ross stated: '^As a result of the growing hetero-
i;eneity society can scarcely make up its mind any more
|5ave on matters of such elemental appeal as fire protection,
sanctity of property, good roads and public improvements.
The 'interests', politicians, and the foreign nationalistic
^organizations play one element off against another so that
jA^e are not getting on as we should.
\ ''Long ago Americans formed the habit of expecting their
'Country to lead the world in popular progress. But we
lave had the mortification of seeing people after people
ipass ahead of us in such matters as education, status of
women, sanitation, law enforcement, vice suppression, pub-
lic morals, etc. In infant saving thirteen peoples are ahead
[oi us. Such stalling and fumbling is the inevitable result
of the cross purposes and confusion of ideas that result
from excessive heterogeneity."
I As early as 1891 Francis A. Walker wrote: "Foreign im-
migration into this country has, from the time it first as-
sumed large proportions, amounted not to a reinforcement
of our population, but a replacement of native by foreign
stock. . . . The American shrank from the industrial com-
petition thus thrust upon him. He was unwilling himself
to engage in the lowest kind of day labor with these new
elements of population; he was even more unwilling to
bring sons and daughters into the world to enter into that
competition. . . . The more rapidly foreigners came into
the United States, the smaller was the rate of increase, not
merely among the native population separately, but
throughout the population of the country as a whole.'*
The inevitable result has been foreign colonies and great
numbers of unassimilated aliens in our midst.
, In 1890 Professor R. M. Smith claimed that the out-
breaks of anarchism and socialism in this country are due
to the presence of unassimilated foreigners. He stated:
"An indication of the unfortunate effect of introducing so
many men of foreign birth and belief into our social body
I ^Overland Monthly, February, 1922, pp. 27-29.
"Quoted in Commons, op. cit., pp. 198-199.
220 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
is seen in the recent outbreaks of anarchism and socialism.
These movements are always led and for the most part car-
ried on by persons of foreign birth. Socialism and an-
archism are not plants of American growth nor of Anglo- 1
Saxon origin. They are not natural to the American mind; '
neither are they due to any deterioration in the condition
of the laboring class in this country, and thus the fruit of
despair and hopelessness in regard to the future. They are '
the importations of foreign agitators who come here for the
purpose of making converts to their doctrines.^'
Speaking in the House of Representatives, Congressman
S. D. McReynolds stated: ^The census of 1920 shows
that there were nearly 14,000,000 of foreign birth in the '
United States. Statistics show that of all males over 21
years of age in the United States 22.1 per cent are of foreign
birth, which is over one fifth of the total. Of course, much
higher percentages are reported in certain sections of the '
country. In the Western Atlantic States — New York, New
Jersey and Pennsylvania — 35.4 per cent of the male popula-
tion 21 years of age and over is foreign born. In the New
England States, 38.2 per cent; in Massachusetts, 41.9 per
cent; in Boston, 46.3 per cent; and in New York City, 53.4
per cent. And it is further estimated that 80 per cent of
the population in New York City is either foreign born or
of foreign parentage. Is not this condition alarming? . . .
^'Suppose we concede, for the sake of argument, that
those who come are as intelligent as we are; as moral as we
are; as law-abiding as we are; but coming, as they do, with
different environments, different ideas of government, dif-
ferent social relations and ideals, they will hold on to their
ideals, spreading their doctrines in this country and under-
taking to force the same upon us. They have never lived
under a republic, and it is the history of most Latin coun-
tries that a republic cannot prevail, that they live greatly
in revolution and fomentation. Any judge can constitute
an alien an American citizen, but it takes a change of heart
"Smith, R. Mayo, Emigration and Immigration, p. 88.
"April 8, 1924. Congressman McReynolds was a mcinbor of the House
Committee on Immigration and Naturalization.
BACK TO 1890
221
land mind to make an American. . . . An immigrant might
be a good worker and a good citizen in his own country by
intuition but not necessarily able to become a good
American.
I "One of the greatest menaces is the large number of
newspapers published in this country in foreign languages.
There are over 1,500 such papers published in the United
iStates in more than 30 different languages. The constant
luse of the native language of itself has a tendency to pre-
vent the amalgamation of and Americanization of foreign-
ers, and furthermore, there was proof before your commit-
tee that many of these papers are disloyal to this Govern-
ment, teaching loyalty to the government from which they
icome. In a single block in New York City it is said that 18
languages are spoken. In fact, this great city was referred
'to by one of foreign birth before your committee in the
House as the greatest foreign city in the world. . . .
"The conditions existing in this country, as well as
throughout Europe, are such that we must protect America
^from this foreign menace which is seeking to enter our
country.
"Since the world's Great War, many dangerous and
deadly doctrines have sprung up throughout Europe; gov-
ernments have been changed over night, and in many in-
jstances the rights of property and freedom of speech and
action are unknown. These same dangerous and deadly
idoctrines have been spread throughout this country, to
a great extent by foreign propaganda and foreigners.
"Communists with headquarters in Russia are perfecting
their organizations in this country, and to such an extent
that not long since the Secretar}^ of State, Mr. Hughes, saw
^t to expose their intrigues in this country and claimed that
the final purpose of these organizations was to overthrow
the Government of the United States and plant a Red Flag
lupon the White House in Washington. Not long since
•Lenin, the great leader of the Communistic party, which
controls Russia, died; and since that time over a thousand
memorials have been held in this country for him. This
222 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
shows the dangers which we face and that it is up to the
American people to see that America is kept American."
On March 12, 1924, there appeared in the Washington
Post, an administration paper, an editorial headed ''Speed
Immigration Legislation." This editorial, among other
things, said:
''In the earlier years of the Republic immigration was
not at a rate that negatived absorption, and most of those
who entered did so with intent and purpose to make them-
selves Americans, to attain the American viewpoint and to
adopt American ideals and to adapt themselves to the cus-
toms and habits of mind of the nation. But in more recent
years a large percentage of immigrants have come with
differences. For decades now immigrants that have been
pouring in have obviously been bent on seizing the oppor-
tunities offered by America but without disposition to
adapt themselves to the American viewpoint and to adopt
American ideals and concepts of government and citizen-
ship in return. The record is crowded with instances in
which groups of immigrants have stoutly resisted Ameri-
canism, have resented the suggestion that they acquire the
language of the land, and have maintained their foreign-
isms. From their entrance great numbers of them have
made it plain by their conduct that they propose merely
to take what America has to give without giving what
America should receive. At the present time, in certain
areas, immigrants constitute a substantial percentage of the
population, and drifting together and holding aloof from
Americanization, hold themselves as foreigners in America."
Concerning the distribution of immigration in the United
States, Professor Seager states:
"A complicating aspect of the growth of cities in the
United States has been the large foreign element which
most of them contain. In only twenty-eight of the sixty-
eight cities having more than 100,000 inhabitants in 1920
"The fear of Russian influence and radicalism in this country is still
widespread, but is obviously overdrawn. Recent echoes of such fears have
been heard in our relationship with Mexico and Central America in 1926-
1927.
BACK TO 1890
223
did native whites of native parentage constitute as much as
one-half of the population. In nineteen of these cities, six-
, teen of which were in the New England and Middle Atlan-
' tic Divisions, over two-thirds of the population consisted
of foreign bom whites and their children. In twenty-one
of them, including New Bedford (40 per cent), New York
! (35 per cent), Chicago (30 per cent), and Boston (32 per
; cent), the foreign-born alone constituted more than one-
; fourth of the population. This large foreign element in
American municipalities has added materially to the eco-
. nomic and political difficulties with which these rapidly
growing centers of population have had to contend. . . .
: The states in which the foreign born constituted over one-
fourth of the population in 1920 were: Rhode Island, Mas-
sachusetts, New York and Connecticut. If to the foreign
' born in these states be added the native born of foreign
parentage, the foreign element is even more conspicuous.
Thus in 1920 the foreign born and the native born one or
' more of whose parents were foreign born, constituted in
Rhode Island 70 per cent of the population; in Massa-
chusetts and North Dakota 67 per cent; in Connecticut and
u Minnesota 65 per cent; and in New York 63 per cent."
I In an article on immigration by Dr. M. Victor Safford
I of the U. S. Public Health Service, w^e find the following
remarks concerning the new immigration : ^^This immigra-
tion has been furnishing social and economic problems in
j the countries it has left. In our daily official duties we
come to know as belonging to a normal human adult type
the individual who cannot count to twenty every time cor-
I rectly; who can tell the sum of two and two, but not of
1 nine and six; name the days of the week, but not the
months of the year; who knows that he has arrived at New
York or Boston, as the case may be, but does not know the
1 route he followed from his home or how long it took to
(reach here; who says he is destined to America, but has to
"Seager, H. R., Principles of Economics, rev. ed., pp. 34-35.
"Presented at the 15th International Con^iress on Hygiene and Demog-
raphy, 1912. See also Safford, Immigration Problems (1925).
224
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
rely on showing a written address for further particulars;
who swears he paid his own passage, but is unable to tell
what it cost, and at the same time shows an order for rail-
road transportation to destination, prepaid in this country.
. . . Temperamental qualities, lack of mechanical aptitude
and of physical strength, impose limitations on their ability
to enter the more desirable productive occupations to a far
greater degree than is the case of the Western European
immigrants. . . . Marked growth in the immigration of
any particular nationality or race has always followed the
discovery of its ability to compete in other occupations
which have hitherto been carried on by older elements of
our population. The entrance of a new immigrant type in
such occupations has tended to be followed by the disap-
pearance of the people previously employed in the occupa-
tions concerned. In so far as the previous labor supply
may have been derived from an immigration of an older
type, that immigration is checked."
In comparing our ability to assimilate the new with the
old immigration Frederic J. Haskin has written:^'' "The
process is a longer and more tedious one, and one to which
the immigrant does not lend himself as readily. . . . The
immigrant from northwestern Europe quickly becomes a
citizen. . . . Since three out of every four of our present-
day (1912) immigrants come from countries where pubhc
education is unheard of, where popular participation in the
affairs of the government is undreamed of, where dire pov-
erty is the rule, it is apparent that the immigration prob-
lem is a grave one. And then, when w^e consider that two-
thirds of this new immigration comes from the rural village
and is dumped out upon our big centers of population,
where vice surrounds it and fattens upon it, where it feels
all of the worst effects of our civilization and none of its
better effects, the wonder grows that the problem is not
more serious than it is. But that it is a problem serious
enough is recognized by all who have studied our immigra-
tion. While the new immigrant, with his willingness to
"The Immigrant, pp. 29-35 (1913), |
BACK TO 1890
225
work in the dirt and filth and the dangers that are a con-
comitant, has made possible much of America's splendid
industrial development, the very fact of his willingness to
brave these things and to brave them at scant wages, has
made him a liabihty to the nation. . . . Landing in a big
jcity he is immediately beset by those who would exploit
I him. The toll that is taken of these immigrants is fearful.
In the vast majority of cases their condition for the time
being is worse in America than it was in their native lands.
I But they sacrifice themselves today in America in order
that tomorrow at home they may live in comfort. But
from this it is evident that their assimilation must be un-
certain and their value to the body politic a doubtful
thing."
Another test by which the advocates of immigration re-
striction undertook to determine whether the immigrant
;from northern and western Europe or the one from south-
ern and eastern Europe can be more easily assimilated and
I is, therefore, more desirable as an immigrant was to see to
'what extent each has become fully naturalized. Figures
bearing on this point which were used by the advocates
!of restriction are given in the following two tables, ab-
' stracted from the report of the United States Immigration
1 Commission.
Percentage of Immigrants Fully Naturalized."
(Males 21 years of age or over, resident 5 years or over in the U. S.)
'Old" Races
Swiss 76.3%
Swedish 73.9%
Welsh 73.0%
Irish 70.2%
I German 69.6%
Scotch 64.1%
Danish 62.9%
Norw^egian 55.6%
English 55.2%
Dutch 51.8%
[Belgian 45.1%
' French 40.9%
New" Races
Austrian 22.1%
Polish 19.1%
Russian 15.1%
Slovenian 14.3%
Slovak 12.1%
Magyar 10.87o
Spanish 9.7%
Ruthenian 8.7%
Rumanian 8.6%
Greek 6.9%
Serbian 4.7%
Portuguese 3.2%
"Vol. I, p. 484 (1910).
226
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
Percentage Naturalized and Holding First Papers."
''Old'' Races
Swedish 92.3%
Swiss 92.1%
Welsh 87.0%
Danish 86.8%
German 85.7%
Norwegian 85.6%
Irish 82.6%
English 80.6%
Dutch 79.9%
Scotch 79.1%
Belgian 76.5%
Bohemian and Moravian... 76.2%
French 66.5%
Canadian (other than
French) 56.7%
Canadian (French) 31.5%
Mexican 10.0%
"New" Races
Hebrew (other than Rus-
sian) 61.6%
Finnish 61.2%
Hebrew, Russian 57.2%
Austrian 53.1%
Armenian 49.2%
Italian, North. 45.8%
Bulgarian 36.8%
Slovenian 35.8%
Polish 33.1%
Lithuanian 32.5%
Italian, South 30.1%
Russian 28.0%
Magyar 26.87o
Slovak 22.8%
Croatian 22.5%
Rumanian 21.9%
Syrian 20.7%
Greek 20.2%
Ruthenian 19.8%
Spanish 13.6%
Serbian 12.8%
Cuban 12.1%
Portuguese 5.5%
"Vol. I, pp. 485-6.
According to the census of 1920 the following table shows
the per cent of our foreign-born population who had become
naturalized :
Country op Origin — Per Cent Naturalized.^
Northern and Western Europe Per Cent
Wales 72.9
Germany 72.8
Denmark 69.2
Sweden 69.0
Norway 67.3
Ireland 65.7
Switzerland 64.9
England 63.1
Scotland 60.9
Belgium and Luxemburg 60.8
France 56.7
Netherlands 56.0
U. S. Ceasus, 1920, Vol. II, p. 805.
BACK TO 1890
227
Country of Origin — Per Cent Naturalized (Continued).
Southern and Eastern Europe Per Cent
Czechoslovakia 45.8
Finland 41.3
Rumania 41.1
Russia 40.2
Austria 37.7
Hungary 29.1
Italy 28.1
Poland 28.0
Yugo-Slavia 25.2
Lithuania 25.6
Turkey in Europe 20.2
Greece 16.8
Portugal 16.4
Bulgaria 12.1
Spain 9.9
Albania 7.4
Naturalization of all foreign-born 47.2
It is obvious in any impartial study of the influence of
foreign immigration on American laws, American institu-
i tions, American customs, and American civilization in gen-
eral, that the facts disclosed by the above tables must be
considered of the greatest importance. To study these fig-
ures is to see clearly why the advocates of restriction
wanted to cut down the immigration from the southern
and eastern Europe, for in not a single case in the above
• table for 1920 does the naturalization of the "new" im-
! migration of any country reach 50 per cent.
These compilations of the Immigration Commission of
1907 and the United States census have been criticized by
a number of students of the subject, including John P.
Gavit, Professor Franz Boas,^^ Henry J. Ford,^^ George A.
jSchreiner and others. In his book '^Americans By
jiChoice",^^ Gavit criticizes the conclusion drawn from these
itables by the advocates of restriction.
He states: "To these reports is attributable almost en-
tirely the familiar conventional generalization that there is
a marked distinction in what might be called 'quality of
' ^American Mercury, October, 1924.
■ ''Ibi^I., September, 1924.
^Ibid., December, 1924.
"* Chapters VII and VIII.
228 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
assimilability' between the so-called 'old immigration' and
the 'newer'. . . . Inasmuch also as this inference coincided
with the general public impression and prejudice to pre-
cisely the same effect, it occurred to nobody to dispute or
seriously to question their validity."
After discussing such factors as the "disparity in numbers
among racial groups/' ''the length of residence," "lan-
guage," "earning power," "civic and political interest," |
etc., he reaches the following conclusions, favorable to the|
"new" immigration.^^
"First. ... If there is any substantial difference in.
'quality of assimilability' between the 'older' races and the|
'newer', it is in favor of the latter.
. "Second, it is evident that such difference as exists among
(races is not an inherent racial quality, but a difference be-
tween the political, social, and economic conditions at the
time of migration in the country of origin.
"Third, and broadly corollary, is the fact that the major,
not to say exclusively, controlling factor in the political
absorption of the immigrant is length of residence. Thej
longer the individual lives in America the more likely he is
to seek active membership therein. . . . Sixth, is the evi-
y dent influence of social and economic conditions in this
country as they practically affect the individual. . . .
Racial groups show a slower desire for citizenship and a
lower rate of naturalization while they are employed in
the more poorly paid industries."
Very few students of immigration who are advocates of
restriction maintain that there is any difference of inherent
racial qualities between the old and the new immigration
to this country, other things being equal, or that one
nationality is "superior" to another. They have contended
and still argue, however, that the new immigration is not
as easily assimilated for the very reasons set forth by Gavit
in his conclusions, since he grants that the other things are
not equal.
The advocates of restriction argue that it is because the
'"Pp. 252-4.
i
I
I BACK TO 1890 229
'(i new immigration has come in such large numbers since
1890; because there exists such a contrast in the economic,
political and social background in the countries of origin ;
because the new immigration has proved to be relatively
I unstable; and because it has tended of necessity to seek
reemployment in the poorly paid industries demanding un-
1- skilled labor — for these very reasons we need restrictions
against it. They readily grant that had the new immigra-
t tion come in smaller numbers it is likely that no such prob-
lems of assimilation and naturalization would have come
rinto existence. They contend further that the solution to
f ' the problem is not to pour more oil on the fire but to check
I the new immigration in order that we may take the steps
!! necessary to eliminate the '^foreign colonies'^ in our large
I cities by the admission to citizenship of truly assimilated
ij Americans. Regardless of the contrasting interpretations
of the data set forth in the above tables and the merits of
. the arguments, it is a fact beyond question that the above
! statistics were influential in crystallizing opinion against
( the new immigration.
\ During the World War something like one-sixth of our
I army was foreign-born. The mental tests which were given
• to nearly two million soldiers brought out some highly in-
. teresting and significant differences between these foreign-
I born soldiers in our army and the native-born Americans,
I and also between the various parts of the foreign-born con-
tingent. Writing in the Journal of Heredity, Mr. Paul
i Popenoe stated: "If the mental age of 20 years be taken
as the point attained by a very intelligent adult, and 16
years as the average normal adult of white American stock,
the relative standing of the various groups is at once appar-
ent. The officers form a group better than the average, as
! one would expect. . . .
'The Canadian contingent probably differs little in racial
antecedents from the bulk of the old white American stock ;
and its average mental age of 13.29 years is not greatly
different from that which the whole white draft would
show, if the foreign-born elements were subtracted from it.
230 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
For the present purpose, it would perhaps not be far fron
right to class the Canadians as also native-born white
Americans — as many of them in fact are.
"Passing this group the average soon begins to declinet
Great Britain stands at thirteen years — and the inclusioni|
of the Irish in this classification tends to pull down thi&|
MEAN JVIENTAL AGE
p p ^ ro oj c3 ^oi uicSS /^
^ 01 ' In ' > 01 ' 01 ' 01 ' 'o% ■
17.26 YRS. WHITE OFFICERS 1
13.29 YRS. j CANADA
13.08 YRS. I WHITE DRAFT
<3YRS. \ ENGLAND, IRELAND.SCOTLAND
12.95YRS. I DENMARK. NORWAY, SWEDEN
12.85YRS. I GERMANY, AUSTRIA
II.86YRS. n GREECE
11.28YRS.I RUSSIA
11 .19 YRS. I ITALY
"|l0.37YRS. NEGRO DRAFT
AVERAGE "MENTAL AGES" OF POREIGN-BORN SOLDIERS
Attention is called to the extremely low score made by men in the
American Army draft from certain foreign countries and to the fact that
the average adult negro showed only the intelligence of the average 1 en-
year-old white schoolboy. These figures applied to immigration would seem
to have a very definite bearing on the new immigration laws limiting the
relative number of immigrants from different countries.
average. If Ireland were excluded, England and Scotland
together would make much the same sort of showing that
Canada does.
"After the Scandinavian countries and the former 'Cen-
tral Empires', which are but little below the American
average, the drop becomes rapid. The younger men of
Grecian birth measured below the average mentality of a
twelve-year-old American school boy; the larger contin-
15.544
948
C 93,965
m
o
11
n 597
>
S 573
2,701
4,002
18,892
BACK TO 1890
231
80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 10 20 % "'cS?.**
GREAT BRITAIN- 557
WHITE DRAFT-94.004
HOLLAND 140
CANADA 972
GERMANY 299
SCANDINAVIA— 1,627
IRELAND 658
AafORn6NCOUNTRlES-12.407
TURKEY-
423
AUSTRIA 301
RUSSIA 2,340
GREECE 572
ITALY 4.007
BELGIUM-
POLAND-
129
392
IMMIGRATION AND MENTALITY
I Here the average mentalitj^ of the white male population of the United
'States is taken as zero. At the right of this line, in black, is shown the
')ercentage of foreign-born drafted men above the American mental average;
it the left, percentage below the American average.
gents of Russia and Italy fall still farther, until the Italians
are not far above the level (10.37 years) of the American
['negro, or of a white adult who is of 'dull mentality'. . . .
I "It is apparent that, aside from English-speaking coun-
tries, only Holland and Germany made contributions that
averaged fairly well with the bulk of the American popula-
232 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
tion. And worst of all the proportion of immigrants fron i
these countries during the last quarter of a century ha ,
been small. The great bulk of the recent immigration t(
the United States has been made up of Slavic and Mediter
ranean peoples; and the startlingly inferior quality of thes
immigrants, from a psychological point of view, has bee'
rarely more strikingly shown than in these army return
It is clear, as special students of immigration have Ion
asserted, that the South Italians, Poles and Russians wh
have been imported in such large quantities during the pac
few decades, to furnish American industry with chea
manual labor, represent an extremely inferior racial con
tribution, measured by existing American standards. . .
. . . The general trend of these draft figures is clear, in-
escapable, and incontrovertible. It shows in a most strik-
ing way that the average of American immigrants during tht
last quarter of a century is below that of the native-bori
white population; and that the average of the countries
which are sending over most of the immigrants, is ever
lower still. This last average is, indeed, so deplorabl}
low that it is a fair and serious question whether the Unitec
States can eugenically afford to admit any more such aver-
age immigrants. Should not the American policy be thai
of admitting all who are superior to the American average
and no others?"
In an Article in the North American Review for May ,
1922 on ''Mental Tests for Immigrants," Dr. Arthur i
Sweeney analyzed the army tests, in order to discover the
facts concerning the desirability of certain types of im-
migrants.^^ He wrote as follows:
''While we can measure objectively the physical qualifica-
tions of the immigrant, we have had no yardstick with,
which to form an accurate estimate of his intellectual and
moral side, as well as those other intangible qualities which
are essential to good citizenship.
^ For another article on this subject see "Higher Mental and Physical
S^'ln(Iil^(is for Immigrants" by Professor Robert DoC. Ward in Scicntifici
Monthly, November, 1924, Vol. IX, pp. 533-547. ;
BACK TO 1890
233
"The psychological tests . . . have furnished us with the
ecessary yardstick to measure the desirability of the im-
jiigrant. The same test will reveal to us, with relative
recision, those hidden qualities which will demonstrate
he fitness of the intending immigrant for citizenship in
'his country, and will exclude those who are unfit. The
irmy tests rated men according to their mental age, and
lassified them into groups. The educational and indus-
rial capacity of these groups was determined, and they
^ ere assigned to positions according to their ability. The
)erformance of these men during their months of service
n their various duties corresponded very nearly to their
)sychological ratings, and confirmed the accuracy and value
I i)f the tests. The tests revealed the intellectual endowment
|j)f the men, and also, to a large degree, determined the
I other qualities of a soldier, such as initiative, reliability,
Hadaptability, and obedience. . . .
I 'Those examined for the Army were grouped according
I to their mental age as follows: D- very inferior, 7 to 9
years; D, inferior, 9 to 11 years; C-, low average, 11 to 13
years; C, average, 13 to 14.5 years; C+, high average, 14.5
to 16 years; B, superior, 16 to 18 years; A, very superior,
18 + years.
'The need of some means of excluding the unfit that shall
be more effective than past measures is forced upon us by
the revelations of the Army examinations. In our Army
360,000 men of foreign birth were put through the test,
Kvith the startling result that 45 per cent were found to be
below 11 years of mental age and were grouped in the in-
ferior and very inferior classes. This fact is startling
enough, but fades into insignificance when we interpret it
ilas relating to the countries from which most of our im-
I migrants come. The table given below is self-explanatory.
K(See Memoirs of National Academy of Sciences, Vol. XV.)
I "It will be seen that the percentage of foreign-born who
•fare found to be in the D and D- classes, with a mental age
of less than 11 years, is 45.6 per cent. Of the 360,000 re-
cruits of foreign birth upon whose examination these fig-
234 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
A
B
C +
C
C —
D
D —
Lf and
XJ —
Aai
JD
P.ct.
P.C
Poland
0.5
3.1
19.5
7.3
43.5
26.4
69.9
Italy
0.2
.6
2.3
24.4
9.1
40.0
23.4
63.4
.4
2.3
4.8
22.1
10.5
40.0
20.4
60.4
2."*
2.1
2.1
36.7
15.7
35.1
8.5
43.6
2.1
Turkey
.4
3.0
5.7
34.4
14.7
30.4
11.6
41.6
3.4
1.2
2.9
8.4
29.0
18.6
26.2
13.2
39.4
4.1
Austria
1.7
1.7
6.7
32.3
20.0
27.5
10.0
37.5
3.4
.6
3.5
8.9
36.0
25.9
21.8
3.8
25.6
4.1
Belgium
.8
11.6
39.2
24.0
18.6
5.4
24.0
i
3.3
7.2
15.4
25.8
28.4
15.4
4.1
19.5
10.£
Sweden
1.3
3.0
12.6
37.0
26.8
17.1
2.3
19.4
4.S
3.3
5.0
17.6
31.8
27.8
11.7
3.3
15.0
8.S
Scotland
4.8
8.2
25.4
19.2
28.8
10.9
2.7
13.6
13.(
.6
4.8
16.2
32.4
33.0
12.8
.6
13.4
Holland
5.0
5.7
21.4
25.0
33.7
8.5
.7
9.2
loi
5.6
14.1
24.0
12.4
35.4
6.0
2.7
8.7
19.7
Average foreign
Average white
draft
1 1
1 .1
9 0
1 .o
ifi
Ov.O
14 S
4.1
8.0
15.2
23.8
25.0
17.0
7.1
24.1
12.1
ures are based, 164,160 were of such low intelligence tha
I they graded in occupation lower than the common laborer
and were those whose work required constant supervision
In the Army they were not considered to be good soldie
material, but were largely assigned to pioneer battalion
for work that required muscular rather than menta
strength.
''Equally interesting and suggestive is the low percentage*
of the higher intelligence group of A and B, reaching only
4 per cent. This group shows the small percentage of in
telligent people of foreign birth as compared with the per
centage of 12.1 found in the general white draft, composec
of all recruits in the Army except the colored races. Cer
tainly it is evident that the number of immigrants capabl(
of understanding the duties and obligations, as well as th(
opportunity for progress, which our citizenship entails is
alarmingly small.
'Tt will also be found that immigration from eastern anc
southern Europe is more undesirable than from other parts
of that continent. We can gauge the desirability of im-
BACK TO 1890
235
(ligrants by the relative proportion of those in A and B
iasses, and by the number in D and D minus. We can not
sriously be opposed to immigrants from Great Britain,
[oUand, Canada, Germany, Denmark and Scandinavia,
''here the proportion of the higher groups is above 4 per
!snt and reaching a maximum of 19 per cent, as in the case
f England. We can, however, strenuously object to im-
migration from Italy, with its proportion at the lower end
f the scale of 63.4 per cent; of Russia with 60.4; of Poland
1/ith 69.9; of Greece with 43.6; and of Turkey with 41.6
)er cent. The Slavic and Latin countries show a marked
lontrast in intelligence with the western and northern '
European group. ...
"As a result of our previous negligence in selection of im-
inigrants we have populated this country with hordes of
[he unfit, who are unadaptable to our requirements of
itizenship. The census of 1920 reveals that out of a total
Ivhite population of 94,820,915 the number born in foreign
countries was 13,712,754. If we apply to this latter number
the ratings as to intelligence found by the psychological
lest in the Army, 14.8 per cent of foreign-born being in D
ninus class, the number would be 2,029,484. Those rated
f& class D (30.1 per cent) would number 3,927,538. This
Drings the total of these two classes, who are rated as hav-
ing a mental age of 11 years or less, to 5,957,026. It would
be interesting if there were some figures showing what pro-
portion of this large number took some part in industry and
production, and what proportion were dependent, criminal,
or worthless; but there are no present adequate means of
determining these facts. The presumption being that the
ligher the intellectual status the more efficient the human
machine, the inference follows that this large portion of
pur population are little fitted to work or vote, and tend to
become burdens upon society, either as dependents or mis-
demeanants. . . .
"We are being swamped with the offscourings of Europe.
Those at the lower end of the intellectual scale have
brought to us their social customs, their language, their
jpolitical ideals. They cannot assimilate our ideals. Their
236 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
adaptability to their new surroundings is limited. Thei -
cannot become citizens in the highest meaning of that wonj "■
They cannot enter into the spirit of American life. Thei ■
add little except numbers to the body politic. They add t-
the burdens of State and municipality, and render more diff j -
cult and complex the administration of law and order. . . i
''We do not need the ignorant, the mentally feeble, thi
moron. We already suffer from the presence of too man;!
whose low mentality leads them into pauperism, crime, se|
offenses, and dependency. . . . We must forget those sen I
timental by-words, like 'a refuge for the oppressed of othe^
nations,' unless we want to be oppressed by the burden o(
ignorance and degeneracy which such a catchword invites, i
Another effort to use the army tests to explain the highe
scores of the older immigrants was made by C. C. Brig
ham.^*^ In addition to vigorous criticism from K. Young,-
M. Hexter and A. Myerson launched an attack againsi
the army tests but especially against the scientific charac
ter of Professor Brigham's work. They accuse him o\
rank prejudice and propagandizing intent. They criticiz(||
the argument that the tests measured native intelligencJI
and claim that the speed factor was a handicap to the forjl
eign born and that with increased length of residence thJi
gain on the Alpha test is greater than the gain on the BetJI
test, thus showing the influence of education and familiaril
ity with the culture of America. |||
Another attack against the arguments of the advocateijl
of restriction who believe that the ''old" immigration ill
more easily assimilated and hence is more desirable waf-
made by W. Bagley.^^ He argued that a high correlatior
exists between the quality of the educational systems ir
given areas and the test achievements of men from the cor-
responding localities. Thus, he claims that it is educatior
^ Brigham, C. C, A Study of American Intelligence.
**Younff, K, Science, Vol. LVII, No. 1484, June 8, 1923, pp. 660-670.
Hexter, M., and Myerson, A., "A StAidy in Probable Error," Menta\
11 y (dene, Vol. VIII, January, 1924.
Barley, W., "The Army Tests and the Pro-Nordic Propaganda," Ed\
Rev., April, 1924.
BACK TO 1890
237
ather than pure native ability that is measured by mental
^ests. He believes, therefore, that in general in view of the
i)ossibility of unfair sampling and of the influence of cul-
tural factors of the test scores, the superiority of the Nordic
Intelligence must be regarded as unproved.
; As already indicated, very few of the advocates of re-
itriction argue that the Nordic races are "superior" to those
)f Southern or Eastern Europe and hence most of them
;rant the soundness of such argument as that set forth by
Jagley. Most advocates of restriction will concede that
iVofessor Brigham, in his study referred to above, over-
ooked the sharp differentiation between the intelligence of
'immigrant groups" and the intelligence of "races." They
irgue, however, that the lower scores on the intelligence
;ests by the more recent immigrants is a fact, although they
joncede that the reasons must be sought iji factors related
:o the passage of time and virtually unrelated to race.^^
rhey contend, howevet, that the existence of such factors
justifies the restriction of the types or groups of immigrants
j^rhich have come from Southern and Eastern Europe in
recent years.
I C. Kirkpatrick is of the opinion that the studies deal-
ing with the children of immigrants in the schools are far
re significant than the results of the army tests given
to adults. He points out that the studies of Young,^^ Mur-
dock,^^ Feingold,^^ Brown, Berry,^^ Pitner,^^ and Col-
"For an excellent analysis of this view see Neifeld, M, R., "The Race
jEIypothesis," American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 32, pp. 423-432 (Novem-
ber, 1926).
"Kirkpatrick, C, ''Selective Immigration," Journal of Social Forces,
Mar., 1925.
^ Young, K., "Mental Differences in Certain Immigrant Groups," Univer-
nty of Oregon Publication, Vol. I, No. XI, July, 1922.
^ Murdock, K., ''Race Differences in New York City," School and Society,
|XI, 1920.
"Feingold, G. A., "Intelligence of the First Generation of Immigrant
jGroups," Jr. Ed. Psych., Vol. XV, No. 2, p. 65 ff., Feb., 1924.
['"BrowTi, G. L., "Intelligence as Related to Nationality," Jr. Ed. Re-
search, Apr., 1922. pp. 324-327.
" Berry, C. S.. "The Classification by Tests of Intelligence of Ten Thou-
sand First Grade Pupils," Jr. Ed. Research, Oct., 1922.
j "Pinter, R., and Keller, R., "Intelligence Tests of Foreign Children," Jr.
Ed. Psych., Aug., 1922, p. 214 ff.
238 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
vin,^* for the most part show decided differences in tL
test achievement of children of different national group
although certain of the writers are inclined to feel that th
language factor may have played a part, especially whe
comparisons are made with American children of Americar [
born parents.
He then states, "In general the showing of the recent in:
migrant stocks is unfavorable, although there are several
exceptions. While important differences in the innatj
qualities of different national groups may, and very likell
do exist, it must be pointed out that individual selection ij
better than group selection and it is this simple fact tha|
was ignored by the enactors of the recent immigratio
law."^o
Referring to the Act of 1924 and the evidence on which i,
is based Woolston wrote thus:^^ "Instead of specifying thj
qualities considered desirable the law favors those natioHi
whose representatives we like, and debars others by genera
provisions. It seems to me that such procedure involves
threefold error.
"First, it disregards the wide range of individual diffeE
ences among the members of any group. ...
"In the second place, such generalization tends to confus
racial traits and cultural development. . . .
"Confusion is worse confounded when both physical anv
mental development are identified with country of birth.J
Bernard has written thus on the application of mentaj
tests to racial groups.^^ "The intelligence thus measure^
is only the acquired intelligence within the limits of ini
herited capacity and not the inherited capacity itself. ThI
degree to which the actual indices of intelligence measures
for a racial group approximates to the actual inherited
capacity will depend on the environmental factors of hom|
^ Colvin, S. S., and Allen, R. D., "Mental Tests and Linguistic Ability,
Jr. Ed. Psych., Vol. XIV, Jan, 1923. p. 1 ff.
^Sce also article by Mead, M., "The Methodology of Racial Testing,
Vol. 31 (1925-6), Amcr. Journal of Sociology, pp. 657-667.
*^ Woolston, H., "Wanted — An Immigration Policy," Journal of Socio
Forces, Vol. 2 (1923-4), pp. 666^70. ,
Bernard, Introduction to Social Psychology, p. 224.
BACK TO 1890
239
training, cultural contacts, motivation, opportunity, etc.,
available to the members of the group." *^
From our discussion it seems possible to harmonize the
views of those who favor restriction of immigration with
the views of those who deny that one race is superior to
another. The advocates of restriction can and should grant
[that some of their number drew unfortunate conclusions
from the army tests. Yet it does not follow from granting
the psychic equality of the races that our political opinions
must change or that restriction of immigration is not jus-
tifiable. To disapprove the superiority of one race over
another does not eliminate the necessity for the restriction
of immigrants with a different cultural background. In
other words, we have had to adopt political devices that
will roughly admit immigrants in proportion to our ability
to assimilate those with a different cultural development.
It would seem then that the value of the army tests is
to be found in the evidence presented of the differences in
Cultural development of the ^^old" and the ^'new'^ immigra-
ition of today. On this basis it would seem that the "old'*
immigration is more desirable than the ''new", being more
easily assimilated because of a cultural background more
ife 'nearly akin to our own.^^ Whether this view be accepted or
not as being sound, yet it must be conceded that these army
31 /tests had great weight with Congress and helped to crystal-
?lize the sentiment that finally resulted in the enactment
of the Immigration Act of 1924.
' Dr. Harry H. Laughlin, of the Eugenics Record Office of
the Carnegie Institute of Washington, who was appointed
T texpert eugenics agent of the House Committee on Immigra-
nt ^tion, studied the biological aspects of immigration and made
an ''expert" analysis of the metal and the dross in America's
biodern melting pot. His report to the House Committee,
il? I *^ For further references see Grant, The Passing of the Great Race;
Boas, The Mind of Primitive Man; Kroeber and Waterman, Source Book
in Anthropology, chapters 15-21 ; Park and Miller, Old World Traits
Transplanted ; Fairchild. Immigration, Ch. XX. A recent and interesting
&J htudy is N. D. M. Hirsch's ''A Study of Natio-Racial Mental Differences."
See especially pp. 393-8 (1P26V
**See Fairchild, op. cit., pp. 451-453.
240
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
November 21, 1922, had such great influence that it i|
ofen considered the principal basis of the Act of 1924. I <
is necessary, therefore, to consider it in some detail.
An institutional survey was made to secure the fact|
concerning particular types of social degeneracy or in j c
adequacy of the different racial stocks, or nativity groups* \i
Having secured the facts in relation to the number of per-j
sons of each race or nativity group found in custodial ini
stitutions and listed under a specific diagnosis, and havingj
previously worked out an expected or quota number foi
each such diagnostic and racial group, the next step was tcj
compare the number expected with the number found.*'
In making such comparisons the divisor was always the
number expected, or the quota, and the dividend wastj
always the number actually found by the survey. Thej
quotient was the quota fulfillment which was expressed ini
terms of per cent. Thus, if the quota fulfillment of a par-
ticular racial and diagnostic group is 100 per cent in the.
table below, it means that for this particular race, in refer-;
ence to this particular type of degeneracy, the numberi!
found is exactly the same as the quota or the number ex-|
pected. If, however, twice as many were found as were
expected, then the quota fulfillment is 200 per cent. If,
again, only one-half as many were found as were expected,!
the quota fulfillment is 50 per cent. Thus, regardless ofl
the absolute numbers in the different racial and nativity
groups in the whole population of the United States, it I
was possible to standardize and to compare the relative ex-i
treme degeneracy of a specific type among the several racial li
and nativity groups. i
To be specific, according to the census of 1910 there wereij
1,343,125 persons of Italian birth in the United States.
This group constituted 1.46 per cent of the whole popula-
tion of the United States at that time. Consequently, if i!
the Italians in the United States were equally as susceptible
as all other nativity groups to insanity, of the type which
we institutionalize in this country, we should expect 1.46
*Sce Chapter II, pp. 55-56, for the use of such a method prior to 1850
by Senator Clemens of Alabama.
I BACK TO 1890 24l
')er cent of the inmates in all our hospitals for the insane in
^he United States to be of Italian birth. In the 93 hospitals
)'or the insane which were covered by Dr. Laughlin's sur-
rey there were 84,106 inmates. The Italian quota was 1.46
oer cent of 84,106, or 1,228, which was the number to be
ixpected. The actual survey found 1,938 persons of Italian
Dirth in the hospitals for the insane, which was 2.30 per cent
.nstead of the expected 1.46 per cent. Dividing the number
found by the number expected, the quota fulfillment was
Pound to be 157.53 per cent, which means that the Italians
fulfilled their quota a little more than one and a half times
in contributing inmates to the hospitals for the insane.
Granting the soundness of such a method, for the sake of
Argument, the logical conclusion to be drawn from such
statistics would seem to be that the differences in institu-
tional ratios, by races and nativity groups, found by these
studies represent real differences in social values, which
represent, in turn, according to Dr. Laughlin, real differences
in the inborn values of the family stocks from which the
particular inmates have sprung. If this be true, then it
would seem that the advocates of restriction were and are
[right in taking into consideration the stock from which the
immigrant springs when drafting our restrictive laws on
limmigration.
This explanation of the methods used to get the results
'indicated in the table on page 242 should enable us to
I properly interpret the facts stated therein.
In the summary of all types of socially inadequates the
following facts were emphasized by the restrictionists:
(1) the per cent for the total native white was 91.89, —
less than what was expected.
(2) For the total foreign stock it was 125.79 per cent.
(3) For northwestern Europe it was 130.42, per cent,
(4) while for Southern and Eastern Europe it was 143.24
per cent.
The percentage for northwestern Europe was as high as
it is due to the Irish immigration, whose quota was found
I to be 208.84. The quotas for all of the other countries that
! constitute Northwestern Europe were much lower than the
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BACK TO 1890
243
quotas of the countries that make up Southern and Eastern
Europe. These facts, together with those revealed by the
;able below, seem to indicate, according to Dr. Laughlin,
that the inmiigrants from Northwestern Europe are far
more desirable than the ^'new'^ immigrants from Southern
Mid Eastern Europe.
The table below shows, by comparison of quota fulfill-
naents the relation between the rate of incidence of each
major type of social inadequacy, on the one hand, and the
time of immigration of the immigrant stock on the other.
Comparative Quota Fulfillments in Inadequacies of the Older and More
Recent Immigrant Stocks, Excluding Living Immigrants.
Older immigrant
stock : Native born,
both parents native
bom
More recent immi-
grant stock :
Native born, one
or both parents
foreign bom
107.70
173.75
73.27
107.03
81.84
98.88 *
93.05
186.02
89.40
122.98
6. Blind
155.64
64.90
7. Deaf
134.20
80.21
8. Deformed
66.21
294.96
104.09
101.91
10. All types
84.33
111^69
~i
The facts provided by this table seem to indicate that:
i (a) in so far as (6) blindness and (7) deafness are con-
icerned, recent immigrant stocks are much sounder than the
older;
(b) in (9) dependency on the State the two time-groups
are about even;
(c) in reference to (1) feeble-mindedness, (2) insanity,
(3) crime, (4) epilepsy, (5) tuberculosis, and (8) deform-
ity, the older immigrant stocks are vastly sounder than the
recent.
The charts on page 244 taken together indicate the degree
of ''quota fulfillment" by each of the groups of immigrants
studied in the above report.^®
These three charts are taken from the Survey for Dec. 15, 1923,
„ 100 •f*
1
in
1
1 1
1
All NoHhwfist Europe
CD All Southeast tonope
I Insaniiv
Z Crime
3 Feeblemindedness
4 DependencY
5 Tuberculosis
7 AU defecia together
A
ii
li
Lll
12 3 4 5 6?
Scandinavia
12 3 4567
12 3 4 5 6 7
Russia and
Finland
123 4 567 1234567
Austria -Hungarf BalKan*
uJL
h
ii
I 3 4 S 6 7
Whites born of
Hntive Parents
• 2 3456 7 t2345 6 7 12 345 6 7 12 3 4-5 6 7
Nesrots Creiit Britain Ireland Ccrmant
HUMAN WRECKAGE IN THE QUOTAS
These charts indicate the relative contribution by each of the numeri-
cally important groups of immigrants, studied by Laughlin, to the population
of institutions for the defective and dependent. The column for dependency
among Irish immigrants is limited by the depth of the chart ; it should run
one inch higher. The upper chart compares all the groups from Northwest
Europe with all those from Southeast Europe for each of the seven cate-
gories of disability. The charts are based on the Laughlin data.
244
BACK TO 1890
245
The classification below will throw more light on the
subject:
Insanity
1. Ireland
2. Russia-Finland
3. Scandinavia
Crime
1. Balkans
2. Italy
3. Russia-Finland
Fee b le-mindedness
1. Russia-Finland
2. Great Britain
3. Italy and Balkans
Dependency
1. Ireland
2. Great Britain
3. Balkans
Tuberculosis
1. Balkans
2. Scandinavia
3. Russia-Finland
Epilepsy
1. Great Britain
2. Russia-Finland
3. Ireland
1. Ireland.
All Defects Together
2. Russia-Finland.
3. Balkans.
It is of interest to note that no nation that supplies the
*'old'' immigration comes under "crinie". That dependency
is high among the ''old" immigration would seem to be
proof of its inability to compete successfully with the
''new" immigration and would seem to establish the point
that even on very low wages, due to the law standards of
living, there is little dependency among the "new" immi-
grants. While dependency is bad, yet under existing
circumstances low standards of living are worse, due to
detrimental effects on American labor as well as for social
reasons.
Concerning pauperism the following table from Dr.
Laughlin's report presents some striking and possibly sig-
nificant figures of the relative incidence of the tendency
throughout those States of the Union where the mass of
our foreign and unassimilated elements are located:
Native-born
Foreign-born
paupers per 100,000
paupers per 100,000
native born
foreign born
population
population
New England
127
314
Middle Atlantic
78
241
East North Central
80
278
246 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
In this connection it is interesting to turn to the highly
significant conclusions of Doctors May and Pollock, quoted
from a New York hospital bulletin of April 12, 1912, ab- .
stracted by Dr. C. B. Davenport and quoted by Dr. Laugh- (
lin in his testimony in April, 1920, before the Committeei
on Immigration and Naturalization in the House of Rep-^
resentatives of the United States:
The conclusions to which Doctors May and Pollock have I
come are:
That the number of foreign-born insane in the State hos-
pitals is steadily increasing. |
That the foreign-born population of the State contrib- 1
utes a relatively much larger number of patients to theij
State hospital than the native born. i
That although the rate of insanity among the Italians is<i
low, this nationality contributes an unusually large propor-
tion of patients to the State hospitals for the criminal in-*
sane.
That the average total hospital residence of the foreign-
born insane patients is 9.85 years.
That the first admission of 1911 shows a rate of insanity
V 22 times as great among the foreign-born population of
the State as among the native born.
That the rate of insanity among the foreign-born of New
York City is 2.5 times that of the native born.
That about one-fifth of the foreign-born first admissions
of 1911 entered hospitals before having been in the State
five years.
That the larger part of the immigrants who are admitted
to the State hospitals within five years after entering come
from Austria-Hungary, Italy, and Russia, and the largest
percentages of foreign-born illiterates are found among the
same nationalities.
Dr. Wm. J. Mayo said in an address at the Boston City
Hospital, November 14, 1923, before the new act was
passed :
'The alien is a public health problem, just as he is a
social problem, and the pubfic hospital sees the dark side
BACK TO 1890
247
3f this picture. In the American of several generations,
he doctrine of moral obligation has become thoroughly in-
rained. In Southern Europe the Oriental point of view
more or less prevails that no obligation which is not en-
orcible exists. The laxity of the conduct of the law in the
nited States, the slowness of Justice, and the extraordi-
ary latitude allowed the offender against the community,
ive the criminal more than a sporting chance to escape
punishment and have exposed the administrators of the
law to the contempt of the class of offenders brought to us
in recent years by immigration. And these are the people
with whom our public hospitals are overcrowded. Our
'courts have been filled with alien law-breakers until the
people have arisen in righteous indignation and reduced the
number of immigrants to three per cent of the number al-
ready here from each country. If the percentage system of
immigration in effect in 1890 could be reverted to, as has
been advised, a much more desirable class of citizens would
be brought from the countries that gave birth to the United
States and its concept of government."
This report of Dr. Laughlin's thus claims to prove that
the biological laboratory is a far more valuable basis for the
study of immigration than are the improvisations of the
sentimentalists. He argued that our alien population from
northern Europe contributes far less in proportion to our
''socially inadequate,'^ whether the inadequacies be innate
or not, than does that from Central and Mediterranean
Europe. His report thus substantiated the conviction
that was becoming more and more fixed in the minds of
those favoring restriction that immigration from Northern
and Western Europe, which for want of a better or more
precise term is usually referred to as ^'Nordic," furnishes
the best materials for building the American nation. By
admitting strains far removed from the '^Nordic" peoples,
in race, in history, and in cultural ideals, the advocates of
restriction argued that the United States has already
tended to become in certain sections like Central Europe,
a collection of unassimilable blocs, with all the social and
248 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
political problems that necessarily follow. Dr. Laughlin
investigations, therefore, supported the contention of th(
restrictionists that the great mistake of the last thirty year.'
has been the admission of so many persons from Southerr
and Eastern Europe.*
The restrictionists have stated, however, that such re-
ports unfavorable to the "new'' immigration do not neces-
sarily mark any nation or race as inferior to any other.
They merely assert that this report and those related to it
simply seem to establish the point that certain races are not
as assimilable in America as others and that the "new" im-
migration is largely made up of such races.
One authority states it thus:^^ "It is unfortunate that
attempts to select settlers should be regarded as a declara-
tion of superiority by the nation attempting it. For prac-
tical reasons the great immigrant-receiving countries have
found it necessary to decide what their dominant racial
strain shall be. This does not mean an arrogant trampling
underfoot of other strains, and should not be so regarded."
The report of the committee on selective immigration of
the Eugenics Committee of the United States,^^ was to the
effect that "It is not here a question of racial superiority of
northwestern Europeans or of racial inferiority of south-
eastern Europeans. It is simply a question as to which of
'these two groups of aliens as a whole is better fitted by
tradition, political background, customs, social organiza-
tion, education and habits of thought to adjust itself to
American institutions and to American economic and social
conditions." |
Dr. Laughlin's report has been subjected to vigorous
criticisms. According to Professor Gillam an examination*
of Dr. Laughlin's data and methods of analysis proves his'
conclusion that "the recent immigrants present a highers
percentage of inborn socially inadequate qualities than do""
♦See also Hirsch, N. D. M., A Study of Nntio-Racial Mental Differences,.
for an excellent investigation of this problem. |
MacLean, Modern Immigration, p. 226. '
Hearings of the House Committee on Immigration, Dec. 26, 1923-Jan.
19, 1924, p. 837. '
BACK TO 1890
249
ihe older stocks" to be unfounded. He questions whether
fhe enumeration of defectives in institutions reveals the
fes )roportional occurrence of these inadequacies among the
mrious race and nativity groups; whether the data really
iisclose significant differences in occurrence among the
rarious races and nationalities; and finally, whether the in-
idequacies are really innate.
Professor Gillam stated:
"(1) His data are incomplete and statistically biased, as
)roved by the relatively large probable errors of the sam-
)les chosen.
''(2) The quotas for the various races and nationalities
Eire derived without proper regard for the homogeneity of
the facts compared.
i "(3) The statistics disclose larger differential ratios be-
tween the older immigrant stocks and the natives than be-
tween the recent and older immigrant stocks.
^'(4) Quotas for recent immigrant stocks are actually
ower than the quotas for the older stocks, native and im-
migrant, in seven out of the nine inadequacies studied.
^'(5) Finally, tests by the methods of correlation not only
further prove the unreliability of Dr. Laughlin's data, they
also remove any possible support for his assumption that
social inadequacies are racially inborn values."
H. S. Jennings has stated that even if Dr. Laughlin's
[data be accepted it is apparent that the alien stocks do not
Icompare unfavorably with the native stocks in every trait.
|Furthermore, he points out that Ireland takes first place as
a contributor to both insanity and dependency and to all
defects taken together, while Austria-Hungary contributes
fewer defectives than any of the European countries either
North or South.
C. Kirkpatrick is of the opinion that ^'it is certainly
true that since only a small proportion of the defectives in
"Gillam, J. M., "Statistics and the Immigration Problem," American
Journal of Sociology, Vol. 30 (1924-25), pp. 29-48.
"Jennings, H. S., "Undesirable Aliens," Survey, Dec. 15, 1923.
j ^ Kirkpatrick, C, "Selective Immigration," Journal of Social Forces,
March, 1925.
250 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
the United States are in institutions, it is questionable
reason from the proportions which have received instit
tional care to the characteristics of entire immigrant group^j
. . . The best of the Southern Europeans are far bette;
than the poorest of the Northern Europeans and while th
present law may have a certain biological validity, bein
based on group selection, it is a most clumsy instrument
with which to obtain a desired end. The sheep may not b
separated efficiently from the goats on the basis of geogi
raphy."
Dr. Antonio Stella has criticized Dr. Laughlin's report iis!
some detail.^" He argues that ^'only the negative feature^
of immigration are presented. Not the slightest mentioii
is made of the great incalculable contribution which th
newer immigration has made towards the growth, developi
ment and cultural life of this country.^' He then argues
that the figures in Dr. Laughlin's report do not correspon(|
with our every-day experience, for the reason that som'*
V states do not provide institutional care for defectives to th
extent that other states do so. The effect of this is "t
make everything look worse than it really is for the new
immigrants," since these are for the most part found i
states which have numerous institutions for defectives.
Other causes of error are pointed out to be as follows:
The failure to take into account the difference o'
the various prevailing age groups in the foreign and nativ
population in computing the incidence of crime, feeble
mindedness and insanity, conditions in which age is a grea
factor.
"(2) The too small and arbitrarily selected number of in-|
stitutions from which the returns were obtained. ...
... (4) The total lack of information regarding the|
number of years these 'socially inadequate' immigrantsj
have resided in America. ... |
^'(5) More importance should have been given to the eni
vironmental causes of 'social inadequacies' as blindness,!
"Stolla, A., Some Aspects of Italian Immigration to the United States^'
pp. 105-122.
BACK TO 1890
251
roil]
k
le
bei
iim
nsanity, tuberculosis, etc. In many cases tuberculosis
imong immigrants is an occupational disease.
"(6) The generalization of the term 'social inadequacy'
s grossly misleading when the statistics are used to show
he inferiority of one race to another, as to its qualifications
'or admission to America. . . .
. . (8) The report, while showing a serious condition
imong the foreign born, does not prove that the 'recent im-
nigrants from Southeastern Europe as a whole present a
ligher percentage of inborn socially inadequate qualities
han do the older stocks'. If anything, these statistics
would seem to show that some of the worst types of social
nadequacy are found to be most prevalent among the im-
migrants from the North."
Unquestionably there is justification for such criticisms of
r. Laughlin's report as those indicated above. Yet these
criticisms hardly justify the conclusion of Dr. Stella that
'the errors in the report are so serious as to render it value-
ess as a source of information." For, whether the inade-
quacies studied are innate to a group or race as a whole, or
not — the facts seem to indicate the contrary — nevertheless,
the concentration of the newer immigrants in certain sec-
tions of this country under different environmental condi-
tions, socially, industrially and economically, has created
problems which must be solved. Drastic restriction would
seem to be the first step in such a solution. Dr. Laughlin's
report has been of great value in concentrating attention on
the existing conditions in those states in which the immi-
grants tend to settle. If it did no more than this, it has
not proved worthless. But, whatever its merit, without
doubt it had great weight with Congress in the enactment
of the existing legislation.
Formulating their conclusions largely from these tests,
reports and opinions of authorities on immigration, it
seemed to the advocates of restriction that the solution to
the problem was a more drastic restriction of the new im-
migration. Indeed, many felt that if this could be ob-
tained, the problem would be largely solved, or could be
D
r
252 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
solved in time. For, as President Lowell of Harvard says:^-
*'It is, indeed, largely a perception of the need of homo-
xgeneity, as a basis for popular government and the pubh(
opinion on which it rests, that justifies democracies in re-
sisting the influx in great numbers of a widely differenli
race." Professor Garner has pointed out that it is the dut> j
of the State to secure ethnic or racial homogeneity in its ■
population. He stated, ''Ethnic homogeneity coupled with i
geographic unity are undoubtedly among the most powerful i
factors in maintaining political solidarity, and it should be |
the ambition of every State to organize itself so as to secure '
these elements of national strength and stability. . . . The ]
State should strive by all proper means to render its popula- =
tion ethnically homogeneous and thereby remove one of the |
most potent sources of national discord. . . . Self-preserva-
tion is the first law of nature/'
Yet, ''of all the nations in the world which have firsi
hand knowledge of large emigrant or immigrant move-
ments, the United States is the one nation which has nol
regulated this movement of peoples to its own needs
Italy's admirable emigration laws are carefully framed tc
suit her own needs. Hungary's emigration system wai
planned to build up the port of Fiume, bring wealth bad
to Hungary and keep Hungarians in America from bein^
naturalized. Bulgaria, on the other hand, wishing to keef
her citizens at home, forbade steamship agents in the coun-
try. Rumania puts a secret mark on the passports of Jews
which prevents them once they have left Rumania, fron
getting vises which will permit them to return to Rumania j
again. Poland facilitates the emigration of Jews, and hin-
ders the emigration of the infinitely more desirable Polisl
peasant. All foreign countries develop laws which accru(
to their own benefit and meet the peculiar needs of th(
different countries. For the United States to delay doin^
so is suicidal."
" Lowell, Public Opinion and Popular Government, p. 35.
" Gamer, Introduction to Political Science, pp. 51-52.
^'^ Roberts, Why Europe Leaves Home, p. 120.
BACK TO 1890
253
In a brief magazine article, the author suggested as early
is 1922 that a simple, effective solution to the problem
l^ould be to adopt the census of 1890 instead of 1910 or
1920 as the basis for permanent legislation and future per-
ientage laws.^® It is true that the three per cent law based
n the census of 1910 was primarily quantitative, but it was
levertheless qualitative to the extent that it kept from our
pores several millions of "undesirables" which this coun-
ty could afford to do without. The one thing the three
ier cent law did was to prove that numerical limitation by
i quota system is the most effective check we have been
ible to put on the tide of immigration. However, in the
mergency, the census of 1910 was adopted merely because
he facts desired were easily obtained on that basis. It was
lever intended to be the basis of a permanent percentage
aw. In Chapter VI we noted that the three per cent law
lid check the ''new'^ immigration to some extent, yet such
estriction was not based on historical facts. The two per
^ent law based on the census of 1890 limits qualitatively
0 a much higher degree as well as numerically within safe
)Oundaries. It automatically closes the door to all but a
few thousand "new" immigrants each year, yet it does not
•xclude to a detrimental point those immigrants from
Xorthern and Western Europe who may desire to come and
who are easily assimilated. It is a practical, American
solution. It will give us time to educate and assimilate
those aliens now here, a task of gigantic proportions, re-
quiring many years. Such a provision would seem to be
■eminently fair and equitable, as we shall indicate in the
conclusion of this chapter. Yet it raised a storm of protest
among the nationals whose quotas it reduced. But this is
the invariable effect of any legislative proposals that are
frankly framed for the benefit of America and Americans
rather than for Europe and Europeans. And yet, as in
the case of any bill, the character of the opposition may be
the strongest kind of evidence of intrinsic merit.
" Garis, R. L., "The Immigration Problem — A Simple American Solu-
tion," Scrib7ier's Magazine, Sept., 1922.
254 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
The new immigration Act provided that the Secretary (
State, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary (
Labor shall prepare a statement for the President of th
United States showing the quota of each nationality er
titled to immigration visas under the law.
Each of the Secretaries named appointed two represents
tives on an immigration quota committee to prepare th
basic statistical material upon which such a report coul
be based. The work of this committee was begun May 31 <
1924, and the report to the respective secretaries was date
June 19, 1924. The report of the immigration quota com
mittee to the three secretaries was in part as follows:
The committee which you designated as your representatives to detei
mine the population bases upon which to compute the quotas of immj
grants from different nationalities, as provided for in the immigratio
act of 1924, have completed their task and have the honor to subm]
herewith a statement of the population bases representing the number o
foreign-born individuals of each nationality resident in continental Unitef
States, as determined by the census of 1890.
In case of a country recognized by the United States but for which ■
separate enumeration was not made in the census of 1890, the committe
acting as your representatives have, as is required by section 12 of th
immigration act, estimated the number of individuals born in such countr
and resident in continental United States in 1890. Similarly in the case c'
a colony or dependency existing before 1890 but for which a separat
enumeration was not made in the census of 1890 and which was nc '
included in the enumeration for the country to which such colony ci
dependency belonged, and in the case of territory administered under .
protectorate, the committee have estimated the number of individual!
born in such colony, dependency, or territory and resident in continent^'
United States in 1890, and have included the number in the populatio:'
basis for the country to which such colony or dependency belongs ci
which administers such protectorate.
Also in the case of changes in political boundaries in foreign countrie;
occurring subsequently to 1890 and resulting in the creation of new couDt|
tries, the Governments of which are recognized by the United States, 0 |
in the establishment of self-governing dominions, or in the transfer c
territory from one country to another, such transfer being recognized b;
the United States, or in the surrender by one country of territory, th
transfer of which has not been recognized by the United States, or in th
administration of territories under mandates, your committee, as the la^
requires, have estimated the number of individuals resident in continents
United States in 1890 who were born within the area included in such ne\
countries or self-governing dominions or in such territory as transferred oj
surrendered or administered under a mandate and have revised, so far a
necessary, the population basis for each country involved in any sucf
change of political boundary. I
BACK TO 1890
255
The classes of political divisions for which the committee have submitted
opulation bases, are as follows:
(1) Independent countries in existence in 1890.
(2) Colonies, dependencies, or self-governing dominions for which sepa-
te enumeration was made in the census of 1890.
(3) Independent countries which have come into existence since 1890.
(4) Self-governing dominions coming into existence since 1890.
(5) Surrendered territories coming into existence since 1890.
(6) Territories administered under mandates.
Since the law provides that the minimum quota shall be 100, your
mmittee have thought it unnecessary to estimate more exactly the
umber of persons born in a particular country or territory and resident in
mtinental United States in 1890 in those cases where it was evident that
8 total number could not exceed 5,000 and therefore would not yield a
tiota of more than 100 on a 2 per cent basis.
On June 30 the three Secretaries transmitted to the
resident their report based upon the action of the quota
ommittee and the President the same day issued the fol-
Dwing proclamation :
By the President of the United States of America
A PROCLAMATION
Whereas it is provided in the act of Congress approved May 26, 1924,
ititled "An act to limit the immigration of aliens into the United States,
nd for other purposes" that —
"The annual quota of any nationality shall be two per centum of
the number of foreign-born individuals of such nationality resident in
continental United States as determined by the United States census
of 1890, but the minimum quota of any nationality shall be 100 (Sec
11(a)).
"For the purposes of this Act nationality shall be determined by
country by birth * * * (sec. 12 (a)).
"The Secretary of State, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secre-
tary of Labor, jointly, shall, as soon as feasible after the enactment of
this act, prepare a statement showing the number of individuals of the
various nationalities resident in continental United States as deter-
mined by the United States census of 1890, which statement shall be
the population basis for the purposes of subdivision (a) of section 11
(sec. 12(b)).
"Such officials shall, jointly, report annually to the President, the
quota of each nationality under subdivision (a) of section 11, together
with the statements, estimates, and revisions provided for in this sec-
tion. The President shall proclaim and make known the quotas so
reported, (sec. 12(e)).
And whereas satisfactory evidence has been presented to me that the
lecretary of State, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of Labor,
mrsuant to the authority conferred upon them in the act of Congress
256 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
approved May 26, 1924, have made the statement and the quotas therei,
provided. >
Now, therefore, I, Calvin Coolidge, President of the United States
America, acting under and by virtue of the power in me vested by t!
aforesaid act of Congress, do hereby proclaim and make known that (
and after July 1, 1924, and throughout the fiscal year 1924-1925, the quo
of each nationality provided in said Act shall be as follows :
Quota
Country or area of birth 1924-192
♦Afghanistan *100
Albania 100
Andorra 100
Arabian peninsula (1, 2) 100
Armenia 124
Australia, including Papua, Tasmania, and all islands appertain-
ing to Australia (3, 4) 121
Austria 785
Belgium (5) 512
♦Bhutan *100
Bulgaria 100
Cameroon (proposed British mandate) 100
Cameroon (French mandate) 100
^♦China *100
Czechoslovakia 3,073
Danzig, Free City of 228
Denmark (5, 6) 2,789
Egypt 100
Esthonia 124
Ethiopia (Abyssinia) 100
Finland 471
France (1, 5, 6) 3,954
Germany 51,227
Great Britain and Northern Ireland (1, 3, 5, 6) 34,007
Greece 100
Hungary 473
Iceland 100
/♦India (3) ♦lOO
Iraq (Mesopotamia) 100
Irish Free State (3) 28,567
Italy, including Rhodes, Dodekanesia, and Castellorizzo (5) 3,845
/♦Japan ♦lOO
^ Lativa 142
Liberia 100
Liechtenstein 100
Lithuania 344
Luxemburg 100
Monaco 100
Morocco (French and Spanish Zones and Tangier) 100
♦Muscat (Oman) ♦lOO
Nauru (proposed British mandate) (4) 100
/♦Nepal ♦lOO
Netherlands (1, 5, 6) 1,648
New Zealand (including appertaining islands) (3, 4) 100
Norway (5) 6,453
♦New Guinea, and other Pacific Islands under proposed Aus-
tralian mandate (4) ♦lOO
Stata
BACK TO 1890 257
Quota
Country or area of birth (Continued) 1924-1925
Palestine (with Trans-Jordan proposed British mandate) 100
Persia (1) 100
haPoland 5,982
Portugal (1, 5) 503
Qii((BRuanda and Urundi (Belgian mandate) 100
Rumania 603
Russia, European and Asiatic (1) 2,248
Samoa, Western (4) (proposed mandate of New Zealand) 100
San Marino 100
'Siam *100
South Africa, Union of (3) 100
South West Africa (proposed mandate of Union of South Africa) 100
Spain (5) 131
Sweden 9,561
Switzerland 2.081
Syria and The Lebanon (French mandate) 100
Tanganyika (proposed British mandate) 100
Togoland (proposed British mandate) 100
Togoland (French mandate) 100
Turkey 100
Yap and other Pacific islands (under Japanese mandate) (4) . . . *100
Yugoslavia 671
♦For each of the countries indicated by an asterisk (*) is established a
lominal quota according to the minimum fixed by law. These nominal
juotas, as in the case of all quotas hereby established, are available only
'or persons born within the respective countries who are eligible to citizen-
jhip in the United States and admissible under the immigration laws of the
United States.
(1) (a) Persons born in the portions of Persia, Russia, or the Arabian
peninsula situated within the Barred Zone, and who are admissible under
the immigration laws of the United States as quota immigrants, will be
|ii charged to the quotas of these countries; and {b) persons bom in the colo-
t|i nies, dependencies, or protectorates, or portions thereof, within the Barred
|, Zone, of France, Great Britain, the Netherlands, or Portugal, who are
:f ^idmissible under the immigration laws of the United States as quota immi-
; grants, will be charged to the quota of the country to which such colony
I or dependency belongs or by which it is administered as a protectorate.
(2) The quota area denominated "Arabian peninsula" consists of all
' territory except Muscat and Aden, situated in the portion of that peninsula
and adjacent islands, to the southeast of Iraq, of Palestine with Trans-
Jordan, and of Egypt.
(3) Quota immigrants born in the British self-governing dominions or in
the Empire of India, will be charged to the appropriate quota rather than
to that of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. There are no quota restric-
tions for Canada and Newfoundland.
(4) As shown on Chart No. 1262a, Hydrographic Office, United States
Navy Department.
(5) Quota immigrants eligible to citizenship in the United States, bom
in a colony, dependency, or protectorate of any country to which a quota
applies will be charged to the quota of that country.
(6) In contrast with the law of 1921, the Immigration Act of 1924 pro-
vides that persons bom in the colonies or dependencies of European coun-
tries situated in Central America, South America, or the islands adjacent
258 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
to the American continents (except Newfoundland and islands pertainin
to Newfoundland, Labrador and Canada), will be charged to the quota o
the country to which such colony or dependency belongs. !
General Note. — The immigration quotas assigned to the various counjj
tries and quota-areas should not be regarded as having any political sig
nificance whatever, or as involving recognition of new governments, or o
new boundaries, or of transfers of territory except as the United State
Government has already made such recognition in a formal and oflScia
manner.
In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal os
the United States to be affixed.
Done at the city of Washington, this thirtieth day of June, in the yean
of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and twenty-four and oi
[seal] the independence of the United States of America the one hun-
dred and forty-eighth. ■
(Signed) Calvin Coolidgb.
By the President:
Charles E. Hughes,
Secretary of State.
This proclamation shows the number of aliens that could
be admitted to the United States under the new quota la^^
from quota territory. But it must not be assumed that thej
law or this proclamation places any limit on total immigra^
tion. There are exemptions in the quota law, and, further.!
nearly all the American hemisphere is not subject to the
quota law. What the total immigration will be cannot be
determined until the end of each year. In Chapter VI we
noted what actually happened as far as total immigration
is concerned for the fiscal years 1921-1924. I
The naturalization laws state that the provisions thereof
"shall apply to aliens being free white persons, and to aliensj
of African nationality and to persons of African descent."!
Aliens of other races are not eligible to citizenship and
hence, with certain exceptions, are barred from enteringj
the United States under the new immigration law and d(^
not fall within the quota. The nominal quota of 100 for
certain countries can apply therefore only to persons ofi
white or African race who were born in such countries.
In the table following a comparison is made of the quota
for 1924-25 with the quota for 1923-24. |
BACK TO 1890
259
Comparison of Quota for 1923-24 with Quota for 1924-25.
(The asterisk and numbers in parenthesis are explained above in the
President's Proclamation)
Quota
Quota
No.
Country or area oi birth
1 (\(yA OK
1.
0
100*
2.
288
100
3.
C)
100
4.
C)
100
5.
Armenia
230
124
6.
Australia, including Papua, Tasmania, and all
279
121
! 7.
7,342
785
' 8.
Belgium (5)
1,563
512
' 9.
0
100*
.10.
302
100
11.
(")
100
12.
C)
100
13.
♦China
0
100**^
14.
14,357
3,073
15.
301
228
16.
Denmark (5, 6)
5,619
2,789
il7.
Egypt
18
100
18.
1,348
124
19.
100
20.
Finland
3,921
471
21.
France (1, 5, 6)
5,729
3,954
22.
Germany
67,607
51,227
23.
Great Britain and Northern Ireland (1, 3, 5, 6). .
77,342
34,007
24.
3,063
100
25.
5,747
473
26.
Iceland
75
100
27.
♦India (3)
0
100"^
28.
C)
100
29.
Irish Free State (3)
(*)
28,567
?30.
Italy, including Rhodes, Dodekanesia, and Cas-
'42,128
3,845
1 31.
0
100* tr
32.
1,540
142
33.
100
34.
(')
100
35.
Lithuania
2,629
344
36.
92
100
' 37.
(*)
100
38.
Morocco (French and Spanish Zones and Tan-
n
100
0
100*
40.
(')
100
41.
0
100**-
42.
Netherlands (1, 5, 6)
3,607
1,648
i 43.
New Zealand (including appertaining islands)
(3, 4)
80
100
44.
Norway (5)
12,202
6,453
45.
♦New Guinea, and other Pacific Islands under pro-
0
100*
260 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
Quota Quo
No. Country or area of birth (Continued) 1923-24 1924-
46. Palestine (with Trans-Jordan proposed British
mandate) 57 1
47. Persia (1) C) 100
48. Poland 30,977 5,982
49. Portugal (1, 5) 2,465 503
50. Ruanda and Urundi (Belgium mandate) (") 100
51. Rumania 7,419 603
iy62. Russia, European and Asiatic (1) 24,405 2,248
53. Samoa, Western (4) (proposed mandate of New
Zealand) («) 100
54. San Marino (») 100
55. *Siam 0 100=
56. South Africa, Union of (3) (•=) 100
57. South West Africa (proposed mandate of Union
of South Africa) (*=) 100
58. Spain (5) 912 131
59. Sweden 20,042 9,561
60. Switzerland 3,752 2,081
61. Syria and The Lebanon (French mandate) 882 100
62. Tanganyika (proposed British mandate) (") 100
63. Togoland (proposed British mandate) O 100
64. Togoland (French mandate) (') . 100
65. Turkey 2,654 100
)6. *Yap and other Pacific islands (under Japanese
mandate) (4) («) 100^
67. Yugoslavia 6,426 671
Other Europe 86
^^ther Asia 92
Africa other than Egypt 104 . . »■
Atlantic islands (other than Azores, Canary Is-
lands, Madeira Islands, and islands adjacent to
American continents) 121
Total 357,803 164,667
' Included in ''Other Europe."
"Included in "Other Asia."
" Included in Africa.
For Great Britain and Ireland,
* Included in Great Britain and Ireland.
' Including Fiume, 71, but not the islands named, which are included ini
"Other Asia."
* Included under title "New Zealand and Pacific Islands."
y Approximately 55,000 were admitted from quota coun-|
tries, as exempt from the quota, after the quota was filled.
This number was made up largely of aliens of classes which
were entirely exempt from the quota as provided by law;
others, such as returning residents, were exempt after a
quota was exhausted; and finally considerable numbers
BACK TO 1890
261
ere admitted in conformity with court decisions. These
Idecisions were reversed by the United States Supreme
■Court on May 26, 1924; but Congress, by joint resolution,
Isubsequently legalized the status of these aliens as resi-
dents of the United States, as we noted in the previous
Ichapter.
r The quota law does not apply to natives of Canada and
INewfoundland, Mexico, Central America, South America,
land the West Indies; hence, practically all of the admis-
Isions from these countries were not chargeable to any
quota. Aliens to the number of 80,682 who had previously
been in the United States returned to the United States
after an absence of less than one year; hence their last
permanent place of residence was the United States.
Practically all of the admissions from China, Japan, and
India in the year 1923-1924 were not chargeable to the
I quota of any country.
In comparing the quotas for the two years, as given
above, an important fact to be noted is that many addi-
tional very small countries or territorial units are listed to
have a minimum quota of 100, and certain groupings of the
earlier year disappear.
It must be kept in mind that the immigration quota fig-
ures apply to country of birth. The table shows that the
quota as a whole is reduced from 357,803 in 1923-1924 to
164,667 for the fiscal year, 1924-1925. In other words, the
quota immigration is reduced by law more than one-half.
However, we have noted already that this does not mean
that total immigration will be reduced one-half, or even
reduced at all, for the total immigration must include im-
migrants from countries not under the quota and also the
non-quota immigrants who enter the United States.
Great Britain and Ireland and the Irish Free State com-
bined are reduced from 77,342 to 66,574, a cut of 19 per
cent. Germany is reduced from 67,607 to 51,227, or 24 per
cent. Other countries of northern and western Europe
get a considerable reduction, Norway's being from 12,202
to 6,453, while Sweden's is from 20,042 to 9,561. However,
262 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
the important reductions apply to the countries of south-
ern and eastern Europe. Italy's quota is reduced froir
42,128 to 3,845; Poland's cut is from 30,977 to 5,982; Rus-
sia's from 24,405 to 2,248; Czechoslovakia's from 14,357 to
3,073; Hungary's from 5,747 to 473; Austria's from 7,342
to 785; and Greece's from 3,063 to 100.
Dividing Europe and a part of Asia into two large groups
of countries, north and west Europe as a whole is reduced
from a quota of 197,630 to 141,099 or 29 per cent, while the
quota for south and eastern Europe (with Turkey in Asia,
Siberia and Armenia) is reduced from 158,540 to 20,447, a
cut of 87 per cent.
BACK TO 1890
263
It is evident, therefore, that the adoption of the census of
!l890 automatically reduced the ^'new" immigration, for at
that time the movement of immigrants from southern and
eastern Europe was just beginning to get under way. The
charge w^as made many times, both in the House and in
the Senate, that this change to the census of 1890 was un-
fair discrimination against the peoples from southern and
'eastern Europe and in favor of the peoples from northern
and western Europe. It is true, as the figures show, that
this change does make a very great shift in the proportion
of our immigrants who are permitted to come from these
two groups of countries. The opponents of the law assume
that this constitutes discrimination. The advocates of re-
striction who favored the 1890 census plan argued that what
they really demanded was the perpetuation of a very gross
discrimination in favor of the countries of southern and
eastern Europe, a discrimination against the countries of
northern and western Europe, and, in effect, a discrimina-
tion against the United States.
Many of the restrictionists stated that the United States
ought not to have to apologize for or explain any actual
discrimination which it might think expedient for its own
welfare and prosperity. They pointed out that virtually
every other country controls emigration or immigration, as
the case may be, in its own interests. They argued that
immigration is a domestic question to be decided in the
interests of the American people and not in the interests
of any other people or nation and some of them went so
far as to state that we may be as arbitrary as we please in
restricting immigration.
However, according to their argument the Act of 1924,
with the quotas based on the census of 1890, does not dis-
criminate against the countries of southern and eastern
Europe despite all the charges of those opposed to it. The
present law creates equalization rather than discrimination.
The census of 1890 as the quota basis gives proper repre-
sentation without discrimination.
To support this argument they set forth the following
264
5840
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
CONGRESSIONAL EEOORD— HOUSE
April i
REMOVING THE DISCRIMINATION"
In the Present Three Per Cent" Immigration Lav/^
Percentage Racial Slock In Present (1920) White fcpulati'on of
the United States, (Including immigrants, descendants of immfr
grants and descendants of original settlers)
Total...92.386.237
Percenta»ge of Quota Immigration Under Present Law
Total 357,803
fVrcentageof Quota Immi^ratwn Under "Johnson Bill" (H.R.7995)
Total 161,184
^ ^ ^ "Northern AND Western "Countries
P«rC«n1-of
Raci*l Stock
Belgium 17
^ ■ ;1 |S B- Denmark..,,. ,...72
^ i'/l S I Finland „ ^.-33
t'M ^ B France 1.87
Germany. K.68
British Isles 6074
Luxemburg 05
'f ^ B Netherlan>3 - .. 1.77
B §rl Norway 1.72
Sweden 2.45
1^ ««...tBr..f^l SW.TZER,.A.0 52
|North«rn f.l Southern i-M
nd.Westernjl tnd Eastern |^ Bg Italy Pefnd
,.^3 m m ^ i ^
lid mt '-m |./;?
_.-r^ ^:^C^ mm^li -
%8S02 56.33 84.11 K.62 44.64 14.88 60.74 21.61 3887 3S2 2.91 \6\ V.66 S»
The quotas as finally worked out make little or no change in the figures
in this analysis, which was worked out by Congressman Vaile.
facts. The white population in the United States, accord-
ing to the census of 1920, was a little over 92,386,000 people.
The countries of northern and western Europe have con-
tributed 85.02 per cent of this white population. Under
the Act of 1921 (the 3 per cent law), they received only
BACK TO 1890
265
(56.33 per cent, while under the present law they are entitled
- ito approximately 84.11 per cent of our annual quota im-
imigration. On the other hand the countries of southern
Cd eastern Europe have furnished only 14.62 per cent of
r present white population. Under the Act of 1921 these
[countries were entitled to 44.64 per cent of our quota immi-
Igration, while under the present law their share is approxi-
mately 14.88 per cent, which is about a quarter of one per
cent more than they deserve. Since the quotas for southern
land eastern Europe are thus more than their per cent of
the population of the United States, where is there dis-
crimination? There being no discrimination, then have
' they any right to complain — unless they insist that it is
the alien who is entitled to have the per cent? The census
of 1910, which was the basis of the quotas in the Act of
1921, was not based on historical facts because it created
a discrimination against the "old'' immigrants who founded
and developed this country.
On March 1, 1924 an editorial in the New York Times —
pubhshed and controlled by Hon. Adolph Ochs, one of the
greatest men of the Jewish race^ — stated:
'The census of 1910, as a matter of fact, favors the newer
! immigration at the expense of the old, and permits fewer
I representatives of those races which built up the United
States during the last century to come in than of the recent
i arrivals.
''In formulating a permanent policy two considerations
are of prime importance. The first is that the country has
the right to say who shall and who shall not come in. It is
not for any foreign country to determine our immigration
policy. The second is that the basis of restriction must be
chosen with a view not to the interests of any group or
groups in this country, whether racial or religious, but
rather with a view to the country's best interests as a whole.
The great test is assimilability. Will the newcomers fit
into the American life readily? Is their culture sufficiently
f akin to our own to make it possible for them easily to take
i their place among us? There is no question of 'superior'
A COMPARISON OF CONTRIBU
TIONS TO THE POPULATION
OF THE UNITED STATES
BY PRINCIPAL GEO-
GRAPHIC DIVISIONS
TABLE 1
Northwest European Stock in-
cludes besides the countries of
Northwest Europe, Canada, New-
foundland, Iceland, Australia and
New Zealand.
South & East European Stock in-
cludes besides the countries of
South and East Europe, Hither
Asia and Africa.
All Others include West Indies,
Mexico, Central and South Amer-
ica, together with the Colored
Races.
266
APPORTIONMENT OF QUOTAS
2% ON CENSUS OF 1890
TABLE 2
APPORTIONMENT OF QUOTAS
BY NATIONAL ORIGIN
TABLE 3
These three tables are taken from pamphlet No. 202, International
Conciliation, September, 1924 by John B. Trevor, "An Analysis of the
American Immigration Act of 1924," published by the Carnegie Endow-
ment for International Peace.
267
268 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
or 'inferior' races, or of 'Nordics', or of prejudice, or of racii
egotism. Certain groups not only do not fuse easily, bu
consistently endeavor to keep alive their racial distinction
when they settle among us. They perpetuate the 'hyphen i
which is but another way of saying that they seek to creat '
foreign blocs in our midst.
"A policy must be formed without discriminating un
fairly against any given groups, but at the same time witl
regard to the interests only of the whole and not of an]
special part." j
The census of 1890 tends to give to the people of thii
country proper and equal representation in proportion t(
the nationalities of which this country is made up, re
gardless of whether the immigration is new or old. Th(j
restrictionists who argued that immigration is a matter oij
privilege and not a matter of right, contended that it is th^
American people who are entitled to a quota. Assuming
this to be our object, they declared that the quotas basec
on the census of 1890 come nearer being just and equitable
to all the people of America than any other census or plar
which it was practical to adopt. If their argument is sounc
then it is evident that the Act of 1921 discriminated ir
favor of the new immigration, while the Act of 1924, basec
on the census of 1890, divides our present and future imi
migration perhaps as nearly as it can be divided in a prac-j
tical way in proportion to the national origins of our pres-
ent population, when classified as "old" and "new" immi-j
grants. '
Concerning the suggestion to base the quotas on the!
census of 1890 an editorial in the Saturday Evening Post ^'^
for November 18, 1922 declared:
"As a temporary measure, the Act of 1921 has been of
inestimable value in meeting a grave emergency; but even
its friends are free to admit that it is unscientific legisla-
tion, in that it establishes the numbers that may be ad-',
" Without doubt, the idoa of basing the quotas on the census of 1890'
was popularizofi by this editorial and made its adoption by Congress alraosti
certain.
BACK TO 1890
269
lifted without setting up acceptable standards of quality
or the persons so favored. Indeed, it was realized before
lie passage of the act that its logical operation would make
{ t inevitable that a considerable proportion of its bene-
iciaries would be persons that America does not need and
loes not want, aliens that would almost certainly prove
.lational liabilities rather than national assets.
' ^'Mr. Garis ingeniously proposes to remedy the weak-
lesses of the present law by the passage of a new act in
fvhich the percentage rule shall be applied to the body of
Aliens in the country at the time of the census of 1890.
The merits of this proposal are obvious. In the year 1890
t)ur population was still comparatively homogeneous; the
immigrants living here at that time were for the most part
bf sound, assimilable stock. Taken by and large, they were
the stuff of which Americans have been successfully made
for the past 100 years. Given the same material, we can go
bn for another century making the sort of citizens we used
to make 30 years ago. Measured in terms of racial values,
■any given percentage of our alien element in 1890 bears
■about the same relationship to a like percentage of our
■foreign population of 1910 as a bushel of dollar bills bears
■to the same bulk of ruble notes. Automatically such a law
fas Mr. Garis suggests sets a high standard rather than a low
' one, and at the same time fixes those definite numerical
limitations that instincts of national self-preservation dictate.
'The comparative remoteness of the year 1890 cannot be
made a basis of any valid argument against adopting the
• racial values of that period. A practical advantage of going
. back to 1890 for our definitions and specifications for a
really useful and beneficent inflow of foreigners is that such
la measure may fairly claim the support of those who
f formed their opinion on immigration matters some 30 or 40
years ago and have never seen the necessity of altering it
to conform to utterly changed conditions. Then, too, such
I a law, in addition to being eminently fair and equitable,
would be a fine and well-deserved tribute to those immi-
; grants of a past generation to whom the country owes so
270 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
much. It would be a fitting recognition of the sterl
quahties of the Scandinavian peoples, who have done
much to build up the Northwest; of the Germans of t
Carl Schurz type, who came to us in such numbers befo
the Civil War; of the Scotch and Scotch-Irish who, p
haps more than any other races, take to Americanism as
duck takes to water and are perfectly assimilated in
single decade; and of still other peoples who have mate,
ally contributed to our national health and vigor."
It has been my purpose thus far in this chapter to expla:
why the census of 1890 was adopted as the basis for quota
to set forth the argument that it is just and equitable ai
does not discriminate, and especially to establish the coi
tention that it gives us a law that is practical and effectivi
As Professor Robert DeC. Ward of Harvard has put i%
^'Such a law results in bringing in immigrants who presei
no difficulties of assimilation, who do not give rise to oi
immigration 'problem'. It is automatically selective, i
well as numerically restrictive. If we are to maintainni]
physical and mental standards of our race; if we are i
make America safe for democracy, to keep America f(
Americans, there is no more logical or practical metho
than this." Concerning the same problem Secretary c
Labor Davis stated in a recent address, 'There should b
some immigration of the right kind, but we, not Europcj
will say who shall come or we will not let any come." Th
census of 1890 as a basis for quota restriction gives us th
most practical and effective legislation that we have eve
had on the subject of immigration.
The Act of 1924 provides in section 11 : "(b) The annua
quota of any nationality for the fiscal year beginning July 1
1927, and for each fiscal year thereafter, shall be a numbe
which bears the same ratio to 150,00*0 as the number o
inhabitants in continental United States in 1920 havin<
that national origin (ascertained as hereinafter provided ii
this section) bears to the number of inhabitants in conti
nental United States in 1920, but the minimum quota o
any nationality shall be 100. j
BACK TO 1890
271
' "(c) For the purpose of subdivision (b) national origin
hall be ascertained by determining as nearly as may be,
h respect of each geographical area which under section 12
|s to be treated as a separate country (except the geo-
;raphical areas specified in subdivision (c) of section 4)
he number of inhabitants in continental United States in
920 whose origin by birth or ancestry is attributable to
iuch geographical area. Such determination sha.ll not be
lade by tracing the ancestors or descendants of particular
ndividuals, but shall be based upon statistics of immigra-
Son and emigration, together with rates of increase of popu-
lation as shown by successive decennial United States cen-
^ses, and such other data as may be found to be reliable,
i "(d) For the purpose of subdivisions (b) and (c) the term
I inhabitants in continental United States in 1920' does not
nclude immigrants from the geographical areas specified
n subdivision (c) of section 4 or their descendants, (2)
iliens ineligible to citizenship or their descendants, (3) the
lescendants of slave immigrants, or (4) the descendants of
\merican aborigines."
' Such is the so-called "national-origin" plan, sponsored by
senator Reed of Pennsylvania. It is to be noted that it is
I ''national" and not a "racial" origin scheme. To illus-
irate this point, under the Act of 1921 the quota of Turkey
. ivas about 2,500 of which only 158 were Turks, the others
I being 417 Hebrews, 658 Armenians, 631 Syrians and 179
I Greeks, besides other races. Under a racial origin plan
' there would have to be a separate Jewish quota. The
• immigration from the British Isles would have to be divided
j into quotas for the Irish, the Scotch and the Welsh as well
j as the English. What would happen in Central Europe
under a racial origin plan would be worse than a Chinese
puzzle. Furthermore, under such a plan the immigrants
I of a particular racial quota in many cases would not come
Sfrom any one country but from many countries, which
I would result in complicated problems. For these reasons
'the law provides for national and not racial origin as the
.quota basis.
272 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
But does this give us as practical a basis for numeric
limitation as the census of 1890, which is the present basis
The purpose of this national origin plan is to divide oi
immigrants in accordance with the national origins of oi
whole population so as to eliminate all charges of discrin
ination. The facts, however, seem to indicate that th
present quotas based on the census of 1890 eliminate th
discriminations in favor of either the "new" or the "old
immigration so far as each type has contributed to our racii
make up. The figures as stated were thus : the "old" iir
migration is entitled to 85.2 per cent and gets 84.11 per cer
of the total quotas while the "new" immigration is entitle
to 14.62 per cent and gets 14.88 per cent of the total. Froi
this it is obvious that there is little difference between th
results obtained with either plan as the basis, — so far g
the two types are concerned.
While it is thus true that the percentages of foreign-bor
Americans from northern and western Europe and fror
southern and eastern Europe under the 1890 census ar
substantially the same as the percentages of Americans
native as well as foreign born, whose ancestors came fror
those two grand divisions of that continent, yet this is nc
true for many of the separate countries of the two divisions
In a study of the population of the United States,'^
Mr. John B. Trevor has analyzed our racial compositio:
and reached the results, indicated in the table on page 27c
However, it is a mere approximation.
If this national origin plan should ever go into effect it i
most certain to lead to claims of discrimination and t-
many hard feelings. Furthermore, while the English an<
Germans are easily assimilated, yet such a large percentag
from any one or two countries may not be as good for u
as is the case under the census of 1890 by which metho(
the total old immigi^ation is divided into what will seem U\
the nationalities concerned as a fairer distribution. Als«j
the present quotas based on the census of 1890 will creati
fewer problems for us. The object desired seems to b
"International Concilmtion, No. 202, September, 1924.
Analysis Oi' the
rorULATlON OP THE UNITED STATES BaSED UPON THE 1920 CeNSU^
Gountry of birth
Descend-
ants of
colonial
stock enu-
merated in
1st census,
1790. and
descendants
of arrivals
between
1790-1820
(numerical
equivalent)
Foreign
white stock
foreign
born ; na-
tive born of
foreign
parentage
and native
born of
mixed
parentage
lilbania
Armenia
lustria
Jelgium .
Bulgaria ....
"zeclioslovakia
rJanzig
)enmark ....
isthonia ....
''inland
•'iume
"ranee
3ermany ....
3reat Britain and
North Ireland
[rish Free State
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
[taly
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxemburg ....
Netherlands . . .
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Rumania
Russia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland . . .
Yugoslavia ....
San Marino ....
■ Andorra
Leichtenstein . .
Monaco
Palestine
Syria
Turkey
Hejaz
Persia
E^ypt
Liberia
Abyssinia ....
Morocco
Union of South
Africa
Australia
New Zealand and
Pacific Islands. .
Canada
Newfoundland . . .
West Indies
Mexico
Central and South
America .
Black
Mulatto ....
Indians ....
Chinese ...
Japanese . .
All others .
294,518
2,768,47.3
44,017,828
650,798
1,227,160
127,625
Native born
of native
parentage
contributed
by arrivals
between
1820-1900
(numerical
equivalent)
7,461
44,042
1,249,852
132,195
14,485
783,946
15,066
511,906
196,187
302,931
875
556,202
6,779,598
4,875,370
2,991,273
236,150
854,816
6,351
3,365,261
224,213
272,259
49,600
383,568
1,063,147
2,675,878
137,399
138,266
2,362,247
83,756
1,521,153
374,611
345,284
1,010
5,382
87,733
25,243
359
1,974
2,241
1,245
28,020
9,714
2,703,055
27,565
47,872
726,463
21,833
899
66,241
17,498
' 41,774
2,679
64,078
4,043
6,548
51
231,679
2,625,303
2,854,482
1,421,895
1,091
45.917
Total 49,086,402 36,398,958 9,335,555
153,901
107,196
4,673
7,817
3,601
67,735
187,548
83,163
13,21
1,09
72,422
9,336
218,574
99,929
16,522
32
1,091
5,241
793,998
6,301
22,634
72,808
12,183
144,266
Colored
races
Total
Quota on
basis of
150,000 Act
of 1924.
Sec. 11
Sub-Sec.
(b),
effective
fuly 1, 192':
7,461
44,941
1,316,093
149,093
14,485
825,720
17,745
575,984
200,230
309,479
926
1,082,399
12,173,374
51,747,680
5,063,966
237,241
900,733
6,351
3,472,457
228,886
280,076
53,201
1,678,463
1,250,695
2,759,041
150,615
139,357
2,434,669
93,092
1,867,352
474,540
361,806
1,042
8,802,577
1,000,5
244,437
61,639
111,010
9,488
10,889,705
5,382
87,733
26,334
359
1,974
2,241
1,245
33,261
9,714
3,497,053
33,866
70,506
799,271
34,016
8,802,577
1,660,554
244,437
61,639
111,010
307,655
105,710,620
100
100
2,171
251
100
1,359
100
945
325
517
100
1,772
20,028
85,135
8,330
384
1,521
100
5,716,
384
458
100
2,762
2,053
4,535
236
222
4,002
148
3,072
783
591
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
150,000
273
274 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
not to admit more or less of any particular nation bu
to limit all, but especially new immigration, in an effective
and practical manner.
Grouping of immigrants by countries of origin does no
give, or rather it conceals, information as to the racial ele
ments making up our immigration tide. For this reasoij
care must be exercised by bearing in mind exactly what thii ;
arbitrary grouping really means. National origin is noi
always the same as identity of race. Politics often cu^
through and separate a race. The same race is not infre-
^ quently found organized in more than one nationality
Thus, country of origin or nationality as determined bj
political boundaries or governmental jurisdiction bears nc
constant or necessary relation whatever to race but ii
usually an artificial result of historical causes. Politica
boundaries, moreover, may not often be national; they are
too often merely governmental.
The national origin plan means that we would have tc
abandon a practical method and adopt something which w(
do not know anything about. As Chairman Johnson statec
in the House, 'Tt appears to be a stalling plan. It is a
postponement. It means three more years of struggle." II
was put into the law in order to get the legislation through
in time, for something had to be done and the Senate stooc
behind its author.
In the first monograph from the census, entitled ^Tncrease
of population in the United States from 1910 to 1920''
there are fully a hundred pages devoted to an effort tc
discover the nationalities of the stock of the people of the
United States. No definite plan was worked out for it
was impossible to do so and yet we must have some base
to start with. It is not going to be an easy matter to come
to some sort of artificial conclusion as to a basis and it is
going to take years to do so. Its advocates confessed this
weakness when they acknowledged that they did not possess
any definite figures. Three years were allowed to solve the
problem but as yet no satisfactory solution has been
reached. Congressman Box seems to have stated the facts
BACK TO 1890
275
correctly when he characterized the plan as 'indefinite, un-
certain and illy digested," while Chairman Johnson stated
that under the 1890 plan you know what you are doing
khile under the national origin plan you go after ''interest-
ng but uncertain dreams."
In an article in the New York Times Mr. A. H. Ulm
pointed out that the preparation of the estimates of na-
ional origins involves countless difficulties, some of which
ire as follows: The first complete census was not taken
mtil 1790. No records of immigration by nationality were
tept until 1820. The total number of foreign born in the
ijountry was not listed by country of origin until 1850.
The recording of the country of origin of persons born here
)f foreign-born parents was not started until 1890. He
ndicated, furthermore, that there is the difficulty of classi-
'■ying the millions of persons of mixed stock.^^
' The Secretaries of State, Commerce and Labor in their
report to the President stated that ''the statistical and
F historical information available raises gi^ave doubts as to
the whole value of these computations as a basis for the
purposes intended." Mr. Herbert Hoover, Secretary of
T'ommerce, reiterated on January 11, 1927 the convictions
'xpressed in his letter transmitting the census data on the
national origins of the population of this country, that
the historical and statistical data on the subject were "very
feeble."
After quoting various authorities on the subject of na-
tional origins,^- Senator Shipstead stated: "I find that we
i have not sufficient official or other data upon which to
I determine the quota of each country upon this basis and
. that it would lead to discrimination between nationalities,
t which is just what Congress diligently endeavored to avoid
I in passing the immigration act of 1924." As early as June
24, 1925 the Director of the Census, Mr. Steuart, stated that
" Oct. 10, 1926.
. "*For a detailed verification of these statements see Congressional
Record, February 1, 1927, pap:e 2747.
I United States Daily, January 12, 1927.
I ^Congressional Record, February 1, 1927, pp. 2746-2750.
276 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
''there are no figures in existence which show completely
the national origin of the population of the United States.'
The Commissioner-General of Immigration in his annua
reports for 1925 and 1926 recommended the repeal o:
the national origins provision and the continuation of th(
present 1890 quota basis. He stated in the latter repon
that ''the advantages of the present method, for adminis-
trative purposes, are its simplicity and certainty, and th(
further fact that it is well established by practice.''
Under leave granted to him to extend his remarks Con
gressman Albert Johnson discussed the national origins
provision in some detail.^^ He stated: 'The determina
tion of quotas under the national origins provision is ar
executive function, and under the law the Secretaries o:
State, Commerce and Labor are charged with the responsi
bility of ascertaining the ratio numbers to be used in cal-
culating quotas to be proclaimed by the President. Th(
law, however, is peculiarly worded. It says:
Such officials shall, jointly, report to the President the quota of eacl
nationality, determined as provided in subdivision (b), and the Presiden
shall proclaim and make known the quotas so reported. Such proclamatioi
shall be made on or before April 1, 1927.
But the law says further:
If the proclamation is not made on or before such date, quotas pro
claimed therein shall not be in effect for any fiscal year beginning befor
the expiration of 90 days after the date of the proclamation. ... If for anv
reasons quotas proclaimed under this subdivision are not in effect for an:
fiscal year, quotas for such year shall be determined under subdivisioi
(a) of this section.
In other words, if the national origins provision does nc
become operative, the existing arrangement shall continue
It must be clear that, upon the adoption of the nationa
origins provision by the Senate and House conferees ir|
1924, consideration was given the possibility that ascer ,
tainment of national origins might not be feasible, and th(
above language was employed to provide authority for the
continuance of existing quotas in such a contingency.
•"Piige 29. "Page 22.
C ongrcHHional Record, Tuesday, June 29, 1926.
^ BACK TO 1890 277
I It follows, therefore, that notwithstanding the manda-
Itory terms apparently requiring that national origin quotas
pe determined, and that report be made to the President,
'and requiring also the issuance of a presidential proclama-
Ition on or before April 1, 1927, the new quota basis need
not become effective at all.
At this time I do not propose to discuss the propriety of
readjusting quotas upon the national origins basis, or the
desirability of the provision in the law, or the possibility
of its repeal.
I do not know of a certainty what quotas may be ex-
ipected to be assigned to particular nationalities in the event
J that the provision becomes operative. Various computa-
tions have been made, but all are estimates merely. No
one of them is entitled to be considered as certain of
adoption. . . .
Since the enactment of the immigration act of 1924 the
press has given some attention to the national origins pro-
vision, and because there is much misinformation concern-
ing it I am inserting in these remarks a brief statement
of the legislative history of the matter.
I This information is as follows:
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF NATIONAL ORIGINS PROVISION
(Note: All page numbers relate to the Congressional
RECORD^^ermanent edition, 68th Cong., 1st sess.)
The national origins provision of the immigration act of 1924 was first
offered in the House of Representatives by the late Representative Rogers
of Massachusetts, April 11 and 12, 1924, during debate on the immigration
bill, H. R. 7995. The House rejected the Rogers amendment. (Record,
pp. 6110, 6111, 6226-6229.)
During debate on the immigration bill in the Senate, April 14, 1924, the
proposition in slightly different language was presented by Senator Reed
of Pennsylvania. (Record, p. 6316.) After amendment it was agreed to
in the Senate on April 14. 1924. (Record, pp. 6471, 6472.)
The only presentation of the subject matter in a committee hearing be-
fore enactment of the immigration act of 1924 was on March 8, 1924, when
John B. Trevor testified before the Senate Committee on Immigration.
(See hearing entitled 'Selective Immigration Legislation,' Committee on
Immigration, United States Senate, 68th Cong., 1st sess., on S. 2365 and
S. 2576, p. 89.)
^ Having been accepted by the Senate (April 16, 1924) and rejected by
278 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
the House (April 12, 1924), the national origins provision became a subjedt
for consideration of the committee of conference, which revised the text ol
the entire bill, amended and accepted the national origins provision, anc<
submitted its report (H. Rept. No. 688) to the House on May 9, 1924.
The conference report was debated in the House that day and the<
national origins provision was discussed by Representative Sab.\th (Record.
pp. 8230, 8231), and by Representative Dickstein (Record, pp. 8238, 8239).
The bill was recommitted to the committee of conference (Record, p..
8249) and was again brought before the House in a second conference re- i
port (H. Rept. No. 716) submitted May 15, 1924. (Record, p. 8627.) In
debate on the second conference report the national origins provision was
discussed by Representative Sabath (Record, pp. 8634, 8635) ; by Represen-
tative Wefald (Record, pp. 8635, 8636) ; by Representative Dickstein
(Record, p. 8637); and by Representative Watkins (Record, p. 6850).
The second conference report was submitted in the Senate on May 15,
1924 (Record, p. 8568). The national origins provision was mentioned:
briefly by Senator Harrison (Record, p. 8580)."®°
The national origins provision was frequently before
both houses of the Sixt^z-ninth Congress, Second Session.
On February 1, 1927, the Senate, without a record vote,,
adopted Senate Joint Resolution No. 152, introduced by
Senator Johnson, of California, which would postpone the
effective date of the national origins clause from April 1,
1927 to April 1, 1928. This resolution was amended by the \
House Committee on Immigration to provide for the entire \
repeal of the national origins provision. The resolution
(S. J. Res. No. 152) was then reported favorably to the ^
House on February 9, 1927. In its report, the House
Committee stated that according to the commission, ^'the'
statistical and historical information available raises grave,
doubts as to the whole value of these computations as a(
basis for the purposes intended." ^'^ On March 3 the House
passed the resolution without the amendment. The Presi-
dent approved it on March 4, 1927.
The debate in the Senate brought out some interesting
information on the subject. Senator Reed of Pennsyl-
vania defended the plan while Senator Reed of Missouri
and other Senators subjected it to sharp criticism.
" A bibliography prepared by the Library of Congress for Congressman
Johnson is in the author's bibliography under the title "National Origins."
''For much detailed information, see Hearings of the House Committee
on "National Origins Provision," January 18, 19, and 26, 1927. Hearing
No. 69.2.1. Sixty-ninth Congress, Second Session.
'^Congressional Record for Feb. 1, 1927, pp. 2737 to 2750.
BACK TO 1890
279
Excerpts from the debate follow :
Mr. Reed of Pennsylvania: If the "national origins'^
method is repealed, it will allow an immigration of about
164,000 annually. If it goes into effect, it will cut down
the immigration to 153,000.
Mr. Caraway (Dem.), Ark.: Of course, that question is
not up now ; but I am very much opposed to an increase of
immigration.
Mr. Lenroot (Rep.), Wis.: Mr. President, is not this the
situation? Those who desire the repeal of the law — and I
lam one of them — merely desire to have the immigration
remain permanently as it is under the law applied today?
' Mr. Reed of Pennsylvania: Exactly.
Mr. Johnson (Rep.), Calif.: Exactly. We remain exactly
as we are today, with no increase, no difference, for one
year.
Mr. Bruce (Dem.), Md.: Mr. President, may I ask the
Senator from California what is the motive back of it? Is
it the idea that the time is too short to work out this
I "national origins" idea?
' Mr. Johnson: There are three motives:
' First, the President is required under the law, and as-
sumes the law to be mandatory, as we understand, to issue
his proclamation on the 1st day of April. That is No. 1.
' Either we must take affirmative action or he issues his
' proclamation.
i' No. 2. The time is so limited that the contest that is
I obvious upon the subject matter cannot be disposed of.
No. 3 is that the data upon which a law concerning "na-
' tional origins" would be predicated are so insufficient and
I so inadequate that even the President in his message says
we can scarcely predicate anything upon them.
Mr. Bruce: The effect of the proposition, then, is simply
to postpone the date?
Mr. Johnson: Entirely; to leave matters exactly as they
are, and postpone the date for one year.
Mr. Reed (Dem.), Mo.: Mr. President, when these
illuminating interruptions came I was about to say that I
280
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
have examined the report which is transmitted by the
President to the Congress; and the report having been
made with reference to the question of ''national origins,"
anyone who will examine that report will understand that
at best it furnishes only the loosest kind of a guess as to
the origins of the present population of the United States.
A moment's consideration will show how difficult the prob-
lem would be.
A man whose ancestors or some of whose ancestors have
been in this country four or five generations finds as many
crosses of blood, and each of these crosses of blood finds
as many crosses in its own instance; and the result is that
it is very difficult to say, as to any man whose ancestors
came here a century ago, that they are of English stock, or
Irish stock, or Scotch stock, or German stock, because there
may intermingle in his veins the blood of a half-dozen
different races.
So that the proposition of selecting people by race-origin
is impossible, for there are probably men in this Chamber'
who have four or five different national bloods in their
veins; and this commission undertook to guess it off by the
number of people of known national origin at some certain
time in the country, and then presuming that their pos-
terity continued in that ratio.
It is the wildest kind of a guess. The national-origins
law is the most impractical thing I ever saw written into a
law, and it opens the door for all kinds of unfairness and
injustice.
According to this schedule which was prepared, we are
nearly all English; the great percentage of our population
is English. Everybody with a little bit of common-sense
knows that is not true. The law ought to be changed.
For instance, under the present law, as shown by this
report, there can be admitted from Germany 51,227; under
the proposed change only 23,428.^^
From Great Britain and northern Ireland — they divide
northern Ireland now from southern Ireland, I presume,
because it happens to be politically separated — under the
* The following abbreviated table, taken from the Quota Board's report
of December 16, 1926, shows the provisional national origins quotas for
BACK TO 1890
281
present law there can be admitted 34,007, and under the
new allotment 73,039.
Mr. McKellar (Dem.), Tenn.: What about the Irish
Free State?
Mr. Reed of Missouri: The Irish Free State, under the
present law, is permitted to send here 28,567; under the
new allotment, 13,862.
I Let us take Denmark. We are getting into the Scandi-
navian country now, speaking broadly. Its quota, under
'the present law, was 2,789; under the proposed change it
is only 1,044.
Coming to Norway, under the present law its quota is
6,453; under the proposed new allotment 2,267.
The allotment of Sweden under the present law is 9,561.
Under the proposed new allotment it is 3,259.
Mr. Bruce: If the Senator has the figures before him,
will he tell us how the new plan affects the Italian
immigration?
I Mr. Reed of Missouri: Under the present law the quota
of Italy is 3,845. Under the proposed allotment it is 6,091.
Speaking generally, the schedules as I look at them are
inoi changes for the better.
Mr. Reed of Pennsylvania: Mr. President, will the Sena-
tor yield?
Mr. Reed of Missouri: Yes.
I Mr. Reed of Pennsylvania: As one of those who helped
' the principal quota countries as compared with the 1890 quotas for the
same countries.
Provisional
Present
quotas on
quotas based
County of origin
basis of na-
on 1890 for-
tional origin.
eign born
population.
, , 1,486
785
2,248
3,073
Denmark
1,044
2,789
Great Britain and Northern Ireland .
73,639
34,007
Germany
23,428
51,227
Irish Free State
13,862
28,567
Italy
6,091
3.845
Netherlands
2.421
1.648
Norway
2.267
6,453
Poland
4,978
5,982
Rumania
516
603
4,781
2,248
Sweden
3,259
9,561
Switzerland
1,198
2,081
282 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
in its origination, I think I might fairly claim that it did'
occur to us that a man has one father and one mother,
and some of the other profound truths the Senator has justi
blessed us with.
Mr. Reed of Missouri: I wonder why the Senator did noti
follow some of these profound truths. Was it because they !
were truths that he shied from them?
Mr. Reed of Pennsylvania: No; because the Census Bu-
reau, which knows almost as much about these subjects as
the Senator from Missouri, told us that it was possible with
reasonable accuracy to determine the national origins of
the present population, and because it was self-evident that
no method of basing the quotas on the foreign born alone
did justice to the native born of America, and every other
scheme that has ever been suggested based them on the
number of foreign born in this country. We thought that
we, who were born in this country, had at least as much
right to be reflected in the quota as had recently arrived
immigrants.
Mr. Shipstead: The Senator from Pennsylvania said
that the Census Bureau has claimed that they had some
formula or system by which they could arrive at definite
data giving us information of the national origins of our
population. I think they made that claim at the time of
the passage of the immigration act. The committee which
under the law was charged with the work of gathering these
data obtained their figures from the Bureau of the Census,
and a report from them has been submitted by the Presi-
dent to Congress. ... I think it is fair to assume that the
committee composed of the three secretaries had all the
data and formulas made available by the Bureau of the
Census and that they made use of them. I should like to
know if the Senator from Pennsylvania has any additional |
information upon which to base an argument that other I
formulas or other data are available now which will bolster
the argument for the national origins clause.
Mr. Reed of Pennsylvania: The Director of the Census ,
within a few days has testified before the House Committee j
that the margin of error in the figures which have been
published is very small, and that if the benefit of the doubt
BACK TO 1890
283
Immigration Quotas.
Provisional immigration quotas based on national origin as provided by
the immigration act of 1924; also present immigration quotas as based
on 1890 foreign-born population; and estimated quotas on national-
origin basis as submitted to Congress when the act of 1924 was under
consideration.
Country of origin
Provisional
quotas on
basis of
national
origin
Present
quotas
based on
1890
foreign-
born
population
Total
153,541
164,667
Afghanistan
Albania
Andorra
Arabian Peninsula
Armenia
\ustraha, etc
Austria
Belgium
Bhutan
Bulgaria
Cameroon (British)
Cameroon (French)
China
Czechoslovakia
Danzig
Denmark
Egypt
Esthonia
Ethiopia (Abyssinia)
■ Finland
France
Germany
Great Britain and Northern Ireland
i Greece
Hungary
Iceland
, India
Iraq (Mesopotamia)
Irish Free State
Italy, etc
Japan
Latvia
Liberia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxemburg
Monaco
Morocco
Muscat (Oman)
Nauru
100
100
100
100
100
1,486
410
100
100
100
100
100
2,248
122
1,044
100
109
100
559
3,837
23,428
73,039
367
967
100
100
100
13,862
6,091
100
184
100
100
494
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
124
121
785
512
100
100
100
100
100
3,073
228
2,789
100
124
100
471
3,954
51,227
34,007
100
473
100
100
. 100
2^,567
3,845
100
142
100
100
344
100
100
100
100
100
284 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
Country of origin
Nepal
Netherlands
New Zealand, etc.
Norway
New Guinea, etc ,
Palestine
Persia
Poland
Portugal
Ruanda and Urundi .
Rumania
Russia
Samoa, western
San Marino
Siam
South Africa, Union of
South West Africa . .
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Syria and the Lebanon
Tanganyika
•Togoland (British)
Togoland (French) ..
Turkey
Yap, etc ,
Yugoslavia
Provisional
quotas on
basis of
national
origin
100
2,421
100
2,267
100
100
100
4,978
290
100
516
4,781
100
100
100
100
100
674
3,259
1,198
100
100
100
100
233
100
777
Present
quotas
based on
1890
foreign-
born
population
100
1,648
100
6,453
100
100
100
5,982
503
lOO
603
2,248
100
100
100
100
100
131
9,561
2,081
100
100
100
100
100
100
671
Estimated
quotas on
national
origin
basis as
submitted
to Congres
in 1924
were given the protesting nationalities, the figures would
still be substantially as they are here.*^^
The evidence thus seems to be overwhelmingly against
the use of ''national origins" as the quota basis, for, how-
ever good the national origins plan may sound in theory,i
this is not a time for experimenting. The census of 189(1
gives us a practical, definite basis and virtually the same
ultimate results, as between the two great regions of Europe.
In a speech at the Hotel Astor March 25, 1924, Hon.
Henry H. Curran, former commissioner of immigration at
Ellis Island, stated: ^'I am for the 1890 measure. It
helps us to become more homogeneous by sending to us
Congressional Record, February 1, 1927, pp. 2741-2742.
BACK TO 1890
285
ievery year a miniature or replica of that which we are
(already according to original national stock. The 1890
measure is the soundest, the healthiest, the fairest, and
the best."
The Immigration Restriction League advocates the na-
tional origins plan for the following reasons :
"There can be little doubt, after studying the debates in Congress at the
time the Immigration Act was passed, that the purpose was the same with
J-espect to both the National Origins and 1890 bases; namely, to ensure that
0ur future immigration should correspond in its make-up with our popula-
tion as it is today. ... As between the two great regions (from which the
bid and new immigration comes), the 1890 Census basis produced results
^hich are only shghtly different from those reached on the national origins
basis as recently reported by the Quota Board. However, the 1890 basis
' does not work out -fairly with respect to individual countries within these
groups, — more especially with respect to Great Britain, Germany and the
Irish Free State. . . . While about one-half of our total white population
is derived from England, Scotland, Wales, and North Ireland, their joint
quota is only one-fifth of the quota immigration, while Germany, from
which only about one-sixth of our population is derived, has a quota of
nearly one-third of the total immigration. Discrepancies, although less in
i'Xtent, exist with respect to all other countries under the 1890 census system
now in effect. By the application of the national origins system all ine-
qualities will be corrected."
In reply to a question from Senator Robinson concern-
ing the difference between the 1890 census and the national
origins plans, Senator Reed of Pennsylvania stated: '^^
''There is almost no difference between the result of the
1890 method and the result of the proposal I have just been
) outlining.''
I ; The results being virtually the same for the old and new
I immigration, the difference must be in the means to the
■end.'^^ In making our choice of methods it would seem
■better, therefore, to select the more practical and definite
fclan, viz., the indefinite continuation of the 1890 census as
■the quota basis. This would necessitate striking out para-
Igraphs (b), (c), (d) and (e) of section xi of the immigra-
Ition act of 1924. Thereby we would eliminate from the
present law its main weakness. Such would seem to be
jthe ultimate action that Congress should and will take on
the subject.
"^Congressional Record, Vol. 65, pt. 6, p. 5475.
\ ''^Congressional Record, Vol. 65, pt. 6, p. 5468.
" The old immigration today as a whole creates virtually no problems.
(See supra, p. 218.) The changes proposed for the different nations,
until based on more accurate statistics, should, therefore, be delayed in
the author's opinion.
CHAPTER IX
Chinese Immigration
Causes of early opposition to Chinese — Early state and municipal legis-
lation against them — Early treaties — The Burlingame treaty of 1868—
President Grant's recommendation — Congressional investigation — The
Committee's report— Act of 1875— The treaty of 1880— Act of 1882— Act
of 1884— The unratified tr2aty of 1888— Acts of 1888— Cases— Act of 189^
—Cases— Act of 1893— Treaty of 1894— Act of 1894— Acts of 1900— Act ol
1902 — Act of 1904 — Conclusions on Chinese immigration — Act of 1917—
Hindu immigration.
No treatment of the development of America's immigra-
tion policy would be complete without reference to oui
legislation on Asiatic immigration. It is intended in this
and the next chapter only to trace the course of this legis-
lation and to point out the particular grounds on which
it rests.
The first great migration of Chinese laborers to this
country dated from the time of the great rush to Californis
in search of gold in the early fifties. Before the end oi,
the sixties, on account of the absence of cheap labor, they \
had gone into a variety of occupations. They were indus-
trious, thrifty, and the form of organization of the Chinese
laborers, by which it was possible for employers to secure
the services of almost any number desired through one
contractor, placed a premium upon their employment
They were at first regarded without aversion by the othei
immigrants into California. However, agitation againsi
them began shortly after their coming into California ir
large numbers. The race antipathy which developed was
due to their peculiarities of dress; to their color, language
and habits; to their inoffensive manners and general de-
fencelessness ;^ and also to the fact that, in many cases, they
286
CHINESE IMMIGRATION
287
were willing to work for lower wages than the American
laborer.
j This popular feehng against the Chinaman soon ex-
ipressed itself in state legislation and city ordinances,
(directed specifically or indirectly against him. "An act
iof the California legislature in 1855 imposed a tax of $55
on every Chinese immigrant. A subsequent act (1858)
prohibited all persons of the Chinese or Mongolian races
' from entering the state or landing at any port thereof,
unless driven on shore by stress of weather or unavoidable
accident, in which case they should immediately be re-
shipped. An act was passed in 1862 providing that every
Mongolian over eighteen years of age should pay a monthly
capitation tax of $2.50, except those engaged in the pro-
duction and manufacture of sugar, rice, coffee and tea.
All of these acts were declared unconstitutional by the
Supreme Court of Calif ornia.'^^ In 1861 an act was passed
imposing a tax on foreign miners. While it was levelled
nominally against all foreigners, it was enforced only
against the Chinese. Furthermore, they could not escape
it, since they were the only ones who were not allowed to
become naturalized.
I In like manner a number of city ordinances were passed
for the purpose of reaching the Chinese indirectly.^ San
Francisco passed a laundry ordinance imposing a license
fee of $15 per quarter on laundries not using a vehicle.
*The Chinese laundries commonly used no vehicle. Men
who sold vegetables on the street from door to door were
'required to pay a fee of $2 if they drove a wagon, of $10
if they went on foot. The "queue ordinance" provided that
every person convicted for any criminal offense should have
his hair cut to a length of one inch from his head. The
loss of his queue was a lasting disgrace to the Chinaman.
The ''cubic air ordinance" required that no person should
let or hire any tenement house where the capacity of the
rooms was less than five hundred cubic feet for every
* Smith, R. M., op. cit., p. 238.
'Smith, R. M., op. cit., p. 240.
288
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
person sleeping there — which was enforced only against
the Chinese.
The efforts of the state of California to stop Chinese
immigration were rendered futile by the decisions of the
Federal Courts. A California statute which gave the state
commissioner of immigration power to exclude from the
state lunatics, idiots, deaf and dumb persons, cripples, lewd
and debauched w^omen, etc., — the purpose being to exclude
Chinese prostitutes — was declared unconstitutional by the
Supreme Court of the United States. The court held that
the prohibition or even regulation of immigration by a state
was a regulation of foreign commerce, and hence belonged
exclusively to Congress.^
Met at every turn by the adverse decisions of the courts,''
California finally decided to appeal to Congress for national
legislation to put a stop to Chinese immigration.
Our political relations with China date back to the year
1844 when Caleb Cushing negotiated the first treaty be-
tween the United States and that country. Neither it nor
the Reed treaty of 1858 said anything about the rights of
Chinese trading or residing in the United States, for under
our laws at that time they were allowed to come and go
freely, to engage in any occupation they pleased; and if
they committed crimes they were subject to the jurisdic-
tion of our courts. In other words, they were coming here
under exactly the same conditions as the citizens of any
other nation and enjoyed exactly the same privileges.
By Art. V of the treaty between the United States and
China, commonly called the Burlingame treaty, concluded
at Washington, July 28, 1868, the high contracting parties
''cordially recognize the inherent and inalienable right of
man to change his home and allegiance, and also the
mutual advantage of the free migration and emigration of
their citizens and subjects respectively from the one country
to the other for purposes of curiosity, of trade or as perma-
» Chy Lung v. J. H. Freeman at al., 92 U. S. Reports 275.
*Sf3e Soon King v. Crowley, 113 U. S. 703 and Yick Wo v. Hopkins,
118 U. S. 356 (1886).
CHINESE IMMIGRATION
289
nent residents;" they ''therefore join in reprobating any
other than an entirely voluntary emigration for these pur-
' poses;" and ''consequently agree to pass laws making it a
penal offense for a citizen of the United States or Chinese
subjects to take Chinese subjects either to the United
' States or to any other foreign country, or for a Chinese
\ subject or citizen of the United States to take any citizen
'i of the United States to China or to any other foreign coun-
! try without their free and voluntary consent, respectively."
Art. VII stated, "But nothing herein contained shall be
held to confer naturalization upon citizens of the United
States in China, nor upon the subjects of China in the
United States."
Prior to this treaty of 1868 our efforts had been directed
towards compelling the Chinese to admit Americans to
China for the pursuit of trade and commerce. In this
treaty, however, we placed ourselves on the broad platform
of the right of free migration and the duty of international
intercourse. Shortly after this declaration, the influx of
Chinese into this country caused such inconvenience that
we immediately turned our backs on the principle of free-
dom of migration, and passed laws excluding the Chinese
as effectually as they had ever excluded foreigners. Thus,
m later years this treaty became a source of embarrassment
to the United States. The express declaration that the
right of migration is inalienable and the express promise
that "the subjects of China shall enjoy the same privileges,
immunities and exemptions in respect to travel and resi-
dence as may be enjoyed by the citizens or subjects of the
most favored nation," expressly committed us, and under
the most solemn circumstances, to principles which a few
years later we flatly repudiated.
In his annual message to Congress, December 7, 1874,
President Grant stated:
"In connection with this subject I call the attention of
Congress to a generally conceded fact, that the great pro-
portion of the Chinese immigrants who come to our shores
do not come voluntarily to make their homes with us and
290 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
their labor productive of general prosperity, but come under
contracts with head-men who own them almost absolutely.
In a worse form does this apply to Chinese women. Hardly
a perceptible percentage of them perform any honorable
labor, but they are brought for shameful purposes, to the
disgrace of the communities where settled and to the great
demoralization of the youth of those localities. If this evil
practice can be legislated against, it will be my pleasure as
well as my duty to enforce any regulation to secure 'so *
desirable an end.''
In a letter to Mr. G. F. Seward, August 31, 1876,^ the
Secretary of State, Mr. Fish, stated, "The application of
the settled principles of international law to the Chinese in
the United States is to be modified by the fact that the
Chinese decline to accept these principles, leading an isb- j
lated life in the communities in which they are settled,
always expecting to return to China, and never, therefore,
becoming domiciled among us, and that they maintain thel
same system of isolation towards Americans in China re-
garding them always as strangers, more or less outside of'
the protection of the law." f
The anti-Chinese feeling soon entered into national poli-
tics and the leaders of the two parties yielded to it for the
purpose of securing the vote of those states. In 1876 both
parties inserted an anti-Chinese plank in their platforms,
and a special joint committee of the Senate and the House!
of Representatives proceeded to the Pacific coast to in-
vestigate the question on the spot, and formulated a report
which covered every phase of the Chinese question, and is *
of value today in that it shows the way in which the
Chinese were regarded by the various classes of people in , i
California. This report fully substantiated the chargest
/ made by the advocates of exclusion of the Chinese.
They found "that there was danger of the white popula--
tion of California becoming outnumbered by the Chinese;?
that they came here under contract, in other words as*
coolies or a servile class; that they were subject to the
» MS. Inst. China, II 429 in Moore's Digest, Vol. IV p. 188.
CHINESE IMMIGRATION
291
jurisdiction of organized companies which directed their
movements, settled disputes among them, and even had
power of life and death, which they exercised by assassina-
tion; that Chinese cheap labor deprived white labor of
employment, lowered wages, and kept white immigrants
' from coming to the state ; that the Chinese were loathsome
in their habits, and the filth of their dwellings endangered
[ the health of the city ; that they were vile in their morals,
land spread prostitution, gambling and opium habits; that
they did not assimilate with the whites, and never could
become an integral and homogeneous part of the popu-
lation." ^
Some of these assertions were perhaps too sweeping.
However, the evidence then and to this day seems to
substantiate the charge that the Chinese do not assimilate
with us. It was stated by the committee that the Chinese
come here' with the single object of making money and then
returning to China; that they have no intention of becom-
ing permanent residents and no desire to adopt our customs
and habits of life; that they have shown no desire to become
acquainted with our political institutions or to take part in
poUtical life; that the whole history of the intercourse
i between China and the Western powers has exemplified
I the fact that, with their four thousand years of civilization
behind them, they are imbued with a thorough contempt
' for the mushroom growth of European life; and that they
remain isolated and constitute an alien element in the
midst of us.
! The report closed as follows:
'The committee recommend that measures be taken by
the executive looking toward a modification of the existing
treaty with China, confining it to strictly commercial pur-
poses; and that Congress legislate to restrain the great
influx of Asiatics to this country. It is not believed that
either of these measures would be looked upon with dis-
favor by the Chinese government. Whether it is so or not,
a duty is owing to the Pacific states and territories, which
"Smith, R. M., op. cit., pp. 242-3.
2^2 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
are suffering under a terrible scourge, but are patientlj
waiting for relief from Congress."
Besides prohibiting the importation of women, egpeciallj
Chinese, for the purpose of prostitution, and the immigra-
tion of convicts, the principal provision of the Act of March
3, 1875, was that the transporting into the United States
of residents of China, Japan or any Oriental country
without their free and voluntary consent, for the purpose
of holding them to a term of service, was to be punished
by imprisonment for not more than one year and by a fine
not exceeding $2,000. It further provided that any person
attempting to contract in this manner to supply coolie labor
to another should be guilty of a felony and imprisoned
for not more than one year and pay a fine of not more
than $5,000.
Owing to the excitement caused by the dispute over the
presidential election of 1876, no action was taken on the
report of the committee until 1879 when Congress passed
what was practically a Chinese exclusion act, which under- «
took to abrogate the obnoxious sections of the Burlingame
treaty of 1868. The bill, passed by the House by an over-
whelming vote and by the Senate by a vote of 39 against
27, was vetoed by President Hayes, who gave as one reason
his contention that Congress had no right to abrogate a
treaty. However, he hastened to comply with the wish of
the representatives of the people that the treaty of 1868
should be modified, and a commission was sent in 1880 to
China for that purpose.
On October 1, 1880 the American commissioners, Messrs.,
Angell, Swift, and Trescot, laid before the Chinese com-
missioners, Messrs. Pao Chiin and Li Hung Tsao, who
proved to be shrewd negotiators, a memorandum exhibit-'
ing the difficulty and dangers attending the free immigra-
tion of Chinese laborers into the United States, and the
desire of the United States to revise the treaty stipulations!
between the two countries on the subject. i
The Chinese commissioners, in a memorandum of
October 7, 1880, intimated that they were ready to enter i
CHINESE IMMIGRATION
293
fupon negotiations to prohibit the emigration of the four
classes — coolie laborers, criminals, prostitutes, and diseased
ipersons. They also pointed out that there was no com-
pulsory emigration from China to the United States; that
'China rejoiced in the freedom which her subjects enjoyed in
[America; they also quoted a declaration of Senator Morton,
ithat the constitution declared that all peoples might come
ito the United States without let or hindrance, and they
declared that the Chinese in America had added greatly to
the wealth of this country. The American commissioners
I intimated rather sharply, due to this unexpected attitude
"of the Chinese negotiators, that this proposal was insuffi-
icient and asked that the Chinese Government consent to
such a modification of the free immigration clauses of the
Burlingame treaty as would avoid the raising of questions
that might disturb the friendly relations of the two coun-
tries. To this end the American commissioners submitted a
, project of a treaty which stated that the Government of
the United States should have the right to regulate, limit,
suspend, or prohibit the coming of Chinese laborers, by
which term was to be understood all immigration other
( than that for teaching, trade, travel, study, and curiosity.
(/ The Chinese commissioners agreed to the limitation of
'i immigration, but not to the prohibition, and they sought to
confine the limitation to California. The American com-
1 missioners finally agreed to omit the word "prohibit" and
I use the words ''regulate, limit, or suspend," but they de-
clined to subject to conditions the right thus secured. They
1 also declined to admit the exception of "artisans" from the
i class of Chinese laborers. The terms of the treaty, which
^are still in force, were agreed to on November 6, 1880.
I Article I stated: "Whenever in the opinion of the Gov-
ernment of the United States, the coming of Chinese labor-
' ers to the United States, or their residence therein, affects
■ or threatens to affect the interests of that country, or to
I endanger the good order of the said country or of any
locality within the territory thereof, the Government of
China agrees that the Government of the United States
294
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
may regulate, limit, or suspend such coming or residence j
but may not absolutely prohibit it. The limitation or sus- .
pension shall be reasonable and shall apply only to Chinese |
who may go to the United States as laborers, other classes
not being included in the limitations. Legislation taken in
regard to Chinese laborers will be of such a character only
as is necessary to enforce the regulation, limitation or sus-
pension of immigration, and immigrants shall not be sub-i
ject to personal maltreatment or abuse."
After the treaty of 1880 was concluded, a bill to execute*
certain stipulations contained therein was passed by the*
House and Senate. However, on April 4, 1882, President:
Arthur returned the bill with his veto, his principal reason
for refusing to sign it being that the passage of an act pro- ,
hibiting immigration for twenty years was an-4inreasonable j
suspension of immigration and, consequently, a breach of
the treaty. j
Subsequently, a modified bill was passed by Congress,!
and, although containing some of the provisions objection-i
able to the President, he approved it on May 6, 1882.
/ Thjs act suspended (sec. 1) for ten years the coming of
< Chinese laborers to the United States, provided for the
deportation of any who should come in violation of the
prohibition, and imposed (sec. 2) on the master of any
vessel who should '^knowingly bring within the United
States on such vessel, and land or permit to be landed, any
Chinese laborer, from any foreign port or place," a fine of
not more than $500 for each such laborer, to which might
also be added a year's imprisonment. These sections, how-
ever, did not apply (sec. 2) to Chinese laborers in the
United States on Nov. 17, 1880, or who should have come
within ninety days after the passage of the act; but such
laborers, in order to establish their right to go and come,
were required (sec. 4), on departing from the United States,
to obtain from the collector of customs certificates of
identity entitling them to return.
It was further provided (sec. 6) that Chinese persons,
other than laborers, who might be entitled to enter the
CHINESE IMMIGRATION
^95
fUnited States, should be so identified ''by certificate issued
under the authority of" the Chinese Government; and the
[forgery of such a certificate was made a misdemeanor, pun-
'ishable by a fine not exceeding $1,000 and imprisonment
(not exceeding a year.
Masters of vessels were required (sec. 8) to furnish lists
of Chinese passengers; and any vessel whose master know-
ingly violated any provision of the act was subject to
forfeiture (sec. 10). Bringing in by land was also made
(sec. 11) a misdemeanor, punishable with fine and
imprisonment.
Any Chinese person who, on hearing before a "justice,
judge, or commissioner of a court of the United States",
was found to be unlawfully in the United States, was to
be deported.
The credentials of "diplomatic and other officers" of the
Chinese Government were made equivalent to the certifi-
(cate required in other exempt classes (sec. 13).
• It was forbidden to admit Chinese to citizenship (sec. 14).
Finally, the words "Chinese laborers" were defined as in-
cluding "both skilled and unskilled laborers and Chinese
employed in mining."
The next legislation on the subject was the act of July 5,
1884,^ one provision of which amended section 1 of the
Act of 1882 so as to make it unlawful for any Chinese labor-
[ ers to come to the United States "from any foreign port
! or place."
' Section 4 was amended so as to provide (1) that the
' certificate of identity of a laborer, instead of being "prima
: facie" evidence, should be "the only evidence permissible
;< to establish his right of reentry"; (2) that every Chinese
• person of the exempt classes claiming a right to enter should
"obtain the permission of and be identified as so entitled
by the Chinese Government, or of such other foreign gov-
ernment of which at the time such Chinese person shall be
a subject", and that the certificate thus required should be
visaed by the American diplomatic representative "in the
'22 Stat. 58. "23 Stat. 115.
296 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
foreign country from which such certificate issues", or b
the American consular representative at the port or plac
of departure; and, while it was made prima facie evidenc
of the facts stated in it, it was declared to be ''the sole!
evidence permissible" of the individual's exempt character
It was expressly declared that the provisions of the act
should ''apply to all subjects of China and Chinese, whether
subjects of China or any other foreign power."
This act of May 6, 1882, as amended by the act of July 5,
1884 was continued in force for ten years by the act of
May 5, 1892.^ and was further continued in force by the
V. act of May 5, 1902.
The act of 1884 was carried out with extreme harshness
and gave rise to a number of cases of individual hardship.
However, relief was given in several such cases, one being
as follows: a Chinese laborer who was here in 1880 but
departed before the act of 1882 requiring a certificate had
been passed, was refused admission on his return on the
ground that he had no certificate, which by the act of 1884,
was made an indispensable condition of re-admission. The
Supreme Court held that the act of Congress should not
be interpreted as demanding a condition impossible of ful-
fillment, and that, although Congress has the power to,
abrogate treaties by legislative action, yet such power will
not be deemed to have been exercised if any other interpre-
tation of the statute is possible.
Opposition to the Chinese in this country continued, so
that, in 1886, the Chinese Government announced to the
United States minister at Pekin that China of her own
accord proposed to establish a system of strict and abso-
' lute prohibition, under heavy penalties, of her laborers
coming to the United States, and likewise to prohibit the
return to the United States of any laborer who had at any
time gone back to China "in order that Chinese laborers
may gradually be reduced in numbers and causes of dangers
averted and lives preserved." We were only too glad tc
enter into such arrangements and after some negotiations
*27 Stat. 25. '"Chew Heong v. U. S., 112 U. S. 536.
CHINESE IMMIGRATION
297
fa, treaty was concluded by Secretary Bayard and the
Chinese minister under date of March 12, 1888. By this
arrangement the United States secured the cooperation of
China in the main purpose and object of the treaty, which
is stated in the first article to be the absolute prohibition
of Chinese laborers from coming into the United States for
twenty years, and unless notice should be given by either
Government six months before the expiration of the period
it should remain in force for another like period of twenty
years. To this prohibition the only exception made was
a Chinese laborer who had a lawful wife, child, or par-
ent in the United States, or property therein of the
value of one thousand dollars, or debts of like amount due
him and pending settlement. Mr. Bayard says, in making
his report of the negotiations to the President, that ^con-
siderations of humanity and justice require these exceptions
to be made, for no law should overlook the ties of family,
and the wages of labor are entitled to just protection.^
'The treaty did not affect the right at present enjoyed of
Chinese subjects being officials, teachers, students, mer-
chants, or travelers for curiosity or pleasure, but stipulated
[that in order to entitle them to admission they must pro- ^
duce a certificate from their Government or from the Gov-
ernment of the country where they last resided, viseed by
the diplomatic or consular representative of the United
States in the country .or port whence they departed."
I The treaty seemed drastic enough, but in order to be
I perfectly sure, the Senate added two amendments by which
the prohibition was expressly extended ''to the return of
! Chinese laborers who are not now in the United States,
whether holding certificates under existing laws or not",
and the production of a certificate was made absolutely
necessary for re-admission. Such action as this is not un-
common for the Senate now, but it did seem a little too
anxious in this case to prevent the return of those who
we had previously said might return. The Chinese min-
ister received the additional amendments with the remark
"Moore's Digest, Vol. IV, p. 193.
298 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
that they did not materially alter the treaty. It was then
sent to China for ratificaion in May, 1888.
The government of the United States confidently ex-
pected that China would ratify the treaty. However, in
China there was delay. It seemed that China desired to
lessen the term of twenty years, and to gain for Chinese
laborers having property less than $1,000 in value the right
to return. Congress grew impatient and passed the Act of
Sept. 13, 1888, which provided for the carrying into effect
of the treaty signed in Washington, March 12, 1888.^^ Since
the treaty was not ratified, much controversy arose as to
whether the law could be enforced. Section 13 of the act
was held to be effective, although the treaty was not rati-
fied.^^ In United States v. Chong Sam,^^ the fifth section
and succeeding sections were held to be in force, though
the treaty was not ratified. Contra, however, were U. S. v.
Gee Lee,i^ U. S. v. Loo Way,i« and Li Sing v. U. S.^^ In
U. S. V. Tuck Lee it was held that Chinese laborers
who depart from the United States have the right to return
only on compliance with sections 5, 6, and 7 of the act of
Sept. 13, 1888, continued in force by subsequent statutes.
On July 7, 1899, the Solicitor of the Treasury held that sec-
tions 5-14 inclusive became immediately operative on the
passage of the act, while these sections were declared to be
continued in force by the act of April 29, 1902.
No ratification of the treaty followed, however, and on
receipt of unofficial reports that China had rejected it. Con-
gress passed a bill prohibiting the coming to the United
States of Chinese laborers. President Cleveland withheld
his approval of the bill for some time, but finally, on the
refusal of China to ratify the treaty unless the term of years
was made shorter and other conditions were changed, on
October 1, 1888, he signed it.
By this act of Oct. 1, 1888, it was made unlawful for any
"^25 Stat. 476, or Moore's Digest, Vol. IV, pp. 194-7.
"U. S. V. Jim, 47 Fed. Rep. 431; In re Mah Wong Gee, id., 433; U. S.
V. Gee Lee, 50 Fed. Rep. 271. i
"47 Fed. Rep. 878. ^^"50 Fed. Rep. 271. ^"68 Fed. Rep. 475.
"180 U. S. 486, 488-490 (1901). "120 Fed. Rep. 989 (1903). i
CHINESE IMMIGRATION
299
Chinese laborers ''who shall at any time heretofore have
been, or who may now or hereafter be, a resident within the
United States, and who shall have departed, or shall depart,
therefrom, and shall not have returned before the passage
of this act, to return to, or remain in, the United States:"
and all certificates of identity under sections 4 and 5 of the
I act of 1882 were declared to be void, and the issuance of
I such certificates in the future was forbidden.
j The Chinese government protested against this legisla-
j tion,^^ but its validity was upheld in the Chinese Exclusion
f Case.^^ The President, in his annual message, Dec. 3, 1888
^ stated :
'[ 'Tn a message accompanying my approval, on the first
I day of October last, of a bill for the exclusion of Chinese
laborers, I laid before Congress full information and all cor-
respondence touching the negotiation of the treaty with
! China, concluded at this Capitol on the 12th day of March
I 1888, and which, having been confirmed by the Senate with
! certain amendments, was rejected by the Chinese Govern-
I ment. This message contained a recommendation that a
I sum of money be appropriated as compensation to Chinese
I subjects who had suffered injuries at the hands of lawless
j men within our jurisdiction. Such appropriation having
j been duly made, the fund awaits reception by the Chinese
Government.
I "It is sincerely hoped that by the cessation of the influx
i of this class of Chinese subjects, in accordance with the ex-
I pressed wish of both Governments, a cause of unkind feel-
ing has been permanently removed."
By the act of May 5, 1892,^2 the legislation of 1882 being
; about to expire, all laws in force in relation to the exclusion
of Chinese were continued in force for another ten years.
Among other additional provisions. Senator Dolph of Ore-
I"25 Stat. 504.
"For. Rel. 1889, 115-150; For. Rel. 1890, 177, 206. 210-219, 228-230.
"^Chae Chan Ping v. United States, 130 U. S. 581. See also Nishimura
Ekiu V. U. S., 142 U. S. 651 ; Fong Yiie Ting v. United States, 149 U. S-
, 698; Lee Moon Sing v. U. S., 158 U. S. 538.
I "27 Stat. 25.
300 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
gon secured one which provided that all Chinese laborers
within the United States were required to secure certificates
within one year, and if anyone was found without such cer-
tificate he was to be liable to deportation (sec. 6).^^
A number of interesting cases came up under this law.
It was held that a commissioner has jurisdiction to make
an order of deportation under sec. 6.^"^ So, also, a justice of
the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia.^^ Where
Chinese persons unlawfully came into the United States
from British Columbia, it was held that they should under
the act of May 5, 1892, be deported to China, there being
no evidence that they were ^^citizens or subjects" of British
Columbia and neither of them claiming to be such, al-
though there was proof that one of them had lived there
three years and the other a year and a half.^^ It was held
that deportation under the act is not punishment for crime,
in the sense of the Constitution,^"^ and that the order of
deportation need not explicitly refer to the act under which
the person ordered to be deported is adjudged to be unlaw-
fully in the United States.^^ Other important decisions
held that the throwing upon the accused Chinese person of
the burden of proof, is constitutional.^^ However, the bur-
den of proving that the person arrested is a Chinese person
rests on the United States.^^ In a number of cases it was
held that the power of Congress to expel, like the power to
exclude, aliens, or any specified class of aliens, from the
country, may be exercised entirely through executive ofii-
cers; or Congress may call in the aid of the judiciary to
" For Chinese protest against, and correspondence concerning, the act of
May 5, 1892, see For. Rel. 1892, 106, 118, 119, 123, 126, 134-38, 145, 147-55, |
158.
^In re Tsu Tse Mee, 81 Fed. Rep. 562; In re. Wong Fock, 81 Fed.
Rep. 558.
^ Chan Gun v. U. S., 9 App. D. C. 290.
"U. S. V. Lee Kee (1902), 116 Fed. Rep. 612.
"U. S. V. Wong Dep Ken, 57 Fed. Rep. 206; In re. Tsu Tse Mee, Srf
Fed. Rep. 562. ,
**In re Tsu Tse Mee, 81 Fed. Rep. 562.
^U. S. V. Wong Dep Ken, 57 Fed. Rep. 206; U. S. v. Williams, 83 Fedj
Rep. 997; In re Li Sing, 86 id. 896; Li Sing v. U. S. (1901), 180 U. S. 486;
U. S. V. Sing Lee (1903), 125 Fed. Rep. 627.
U. S. V. Hung Chang, 126 Fed. Rep. 400.
CHINESE IMMIGRATION
301
ascertain any contested facts on which an alien's right to
remain in the country has been made by Congress to de-
fend. In the same cases it was held that Congress has the
right to provide a system of registration and identification
Df any class of aliens within the country, and to take all
proper means to carry out that system.^ ^ From these and
bther decisions it is evident that the exclusion laws were
Kipheld in virtually every respect.
By the act of November 3, 1893, the time within which
Chinese laborers in the United States were permitted to
register was fixed at six months from that date; for the
phrase ''at least one credible white witness," in sec. 6 of
the act of 1892, there was substituted ''at least one credible
^vitness other than Chinese;" there was excluded from regis-
tration any Chinese person who had been convicted in the
United States of felony; and the certificate of residence was
required to contain the applicant's photograph.
In. his annual message of December 4, 1893, President
Cleveland stated:
; "The legislation of last year requiring the registration of
^11 Chinese laborers entitled to residence in the United
States, and the deportation of all not complying with the
provisions of the act within the time prescribed, met with
•hiuch opposition from Chinamen in this country. Acting
upon the advice of eminent counsel that the law was un-
j constitutional, the great mass of Chinese laborers, pending
judicial inquiry as to its validity, in good faith declined to
apply for the certificates required by its provisions. A test
Jpase upon proceedings by habeas corpus was brought before
the Supreme Court, and on May 15, 1893, a decision was
piade by that tribunal sustaining the law.
[ "It is believed that under the recent amendment of the act
'extending the time for registration, the Chinese laborers
thereto entitled, who desire to reside in this country, will
Qow avail themselves of the renewed privilege thus afforded
' "Fong Yiie Ting v. U. S. (1893), 149 U. S. 698. See also Lem Moon
Sing V. U. S, 158 U. S. 538; Li Sing v. U. S., 180 U. S. 486; Fok Yung Yo
y. XJ. S. (1902), 185 U. S. 296, 302.
302 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
of establishing by lawful procedure their right to remaii ,
and that thereby the necessity of enforced deportation man
to a great degree be avoided."
I have discussed this at length here in order to preserf
clearly the right of the United States to require aliens ti
register. In view of the present agitation for the registrgj
tion of all aliens in this country, it has a renewed and addej
significance.
China soon asked for the opening of negotiations lookini
to a new treaty. These negotiations were successful. Th
treaty was signed at Washington, March 17, 1894 and pro
claimed on December 8, 1894. It was agreed (art. I) thai
for a period of ten years, from the date of the exchange ci
ratifications, the coming of Chinese laborers to the Unite
States, except under the conditions specified in the treatjl
should be "absolutely prohibited." Those going back t
China were allowed to return here, providing they had
wife, child, or parent, or property worth $1,000 somewhen
in the United States. Registration was still required. I
practically covered the same grounds as existing legislatioii
except that the act of October 1, 1888, refusing to Chinesij
laborers the right to return, was repealed. On January 24
1904, the Chinese Government gave notice of the terming
tion of the treaty on December 7, 1904. '
By the act of August 18, 1894, ''in every case where
alien is excluded from admission into the United State!
under any law or treaty now existing or hereafter made, thi
decision of the appropriate immigration or customs officersj
if adverse to the admission of such alien, shall be fina
unless reversed on appeal to the Secretary of the Trea^
ury." Under this same act the courts can not review aj
order of deportation from which no appeal has been taker;
By the Act of June 6, 1900, the administration of th
Chinese exclusion laws was committed to the Commis
^^28 Stat. 390. In Quon Quon Poy v. Johnson, Feb. 21, 1927, Sup. Coui
of U. S., No. 68, the Supreme Court held that the hearing accorded
Ch'nese boy, seeking admission to the U. S. under the claim of America
c'tizenship, was fair and the departmental findings conclusive. See als
Re Simone case, supra, p. 97, and Ju Toy case, supra, p. 102, and case
cited on p. 140, in note 14.
CHINESE IMMIGRATION
303
iioner-General of Immigration, under the supervision and
iirection of the Secretary of the Treasury.^^ However, by
he act of February 14, 1903, the authority possessed by the
Secretary of the Treasury in relation to the exclusion of
[Chinese was transferred to the Secretary of Commerce and
i.jabor,3* later to the Secretary of Labor.^^
After the annexation of Hawaii, on July 7, 1898, Chinese
mmigration to these islands was declared to be regulated
)y the laws of the United States. By the act of April 30,
1900, provision was made for the registering of all the
IJhinese in these islands, and Chinese living there were for-
bidden to enter continental United States.^^
As the time came for the lapse of the period of exclusion
provided by the Act of 1892, interest in the exclusion laws
igain became intense, especially on the Pacific coast. A
Chinese minister, in a letter to the Secretary of State, De-
;ember 10, 1901, brought the matter to the attention of the
[Jnited States, ^'urging an adjustment of the questions in-
volved more in harmony with the friendly relations of the
two governments." In his annual message of December 3,
1901, President Roosevelt stated: "1 regard it as neces-
sary to reenact immediately the law excluding Chinese
laborers, and to strengthen it wherever necessary in order
io make its enforcement entirely effective." A bill was
introduced in the Senate on January 16, 1902 by Senator
Mitchell, of Oregon, and a similar bill was introduced in
:he House by the late Mr. Kahn, of California. In the
Senate the Mitchell and Kahn bills were considered too
;evere, and before passing that body they were amended by
providing that all existing laws be reenact ed, and continue
in force until a new treaty should be negotiated. Congress
idopted the bill April 28, 1902 and the President approved
t the following day.^"^ By section 1 of this act of April 29,
1902, all laws relating to the exclusion of Chinese and their
•esidence in the United States, including sections 5, 6, 7, 8,
"31 Stat. 588. 611. '^32 Stat. 825, 826-829.
"37 Stat. 736 (Act of March 4, 1913).
"30 Stat. 750, 751 and 31 Stat. 141, 161.
^ "32 Stat. 176.
304 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
9, 10, 11, 13, and 14 of the act of Sept. 13, 1888, were, s(
far as not inconsistent with treaty obligations continued ir
force, and were made applicable to the island territory o;
the United States, so as to prohibit the immigration o]
Chinese laborers, not citizens of the United States, froir
such territory to the mainland territory, or from one part tc .
another of the island territory, except in the same group
and the islands within the jurisdiction of any State or Dis-fl
trict of Alaska are considered as part of the mainland.
Section 4 required all Chinese laborers, other than citi-
zens, in the insular territory of the United States, excepi
Hawaii, to obtain within a year certificates of residence ir
such territory, on pain of deportation; but the Philippine
Commission was authorized to extend the time in those
islands.
Upon the refusal of China to continue the treaty of 189-:
after 1904, Congress, by the act of April 27, 1904,^'
amended section 1 of the foregoing act by omitting the ref
erence to treaty obligations. Thus Congress reenacted, eX'
tended and continued, all laws then in force in so far as they
were not inconsistent with treaty obligations, so that ab-
solute prohibition of Chinese laborers has continued to this
day, for this exclusion law of 1904 is still in force.
Such then has been the history of our dealings with Chinaj
concerning the immigration of Chinese laborers into this ^
country. Perhaps it is not a record about which we can
boast, yet it accomplished the desired end, — the effective
exclusion of Chinese laborers.^^ The arguments and pro- J
tests of Japan against the provisions in the Act of 1924 j
which in effect excluded Japanese laborers from the United J
States become rather feeble and groundless when one con-j
siders the rather extreme measures we have taken against
Chinese immigration. At any rate, from our brief review ofi
our policy toward China, it would seem that neither Chinai
nor Japan can hold out much hope for a change in the pres-^j
^33 Stat. I, 428.
® How cffoctivoly this is boinR done is ovidont from the table on page 305
taken from the report of the Commissioner-General for the fiscal yean
1924, page 156.
CHINESE IMMIGRATION
305
Summary op Chinese Seekinc. Admission to ttir United States,
June 30, 1919, to 1924, mv Classes
Fiscal Years Ended
Class alleged
United States citizens
Wives of United
States citizens . . .
iReturning laborers. .
Returning merchants
-Oilier merchants. . . .
M embers of mer-
chants' families . .
Siudcnts
i"ra\'elers
i'lacliers
Ortieials
Miscellaneous
(li anted o r denied
the privilege of
transit in bond
across land terri-
tory of the United
States
Total
1919
1920
1921
. r3
-a
'a
OJ
pea
itte
D
ti
itte
O)
<u
A
'S
c
'V
as
eS
O
S
'a
CS
O)
T3
S
ca
0)
0)
a
V
<
Q
Q
H
Q
Q
<
Q
5
W
955
29
1
1
1,761
27
2
3,239
47
4
1
91
5
141
1
290
1
418
2
320
2
568
0
i'
r)i2
28
525
21
702
4
138
25
105
287
4
305
47
644
47
1,316
38
3
443
1
512
2
838
4
48
1
131
110
IG
28
i
33
134
' 2
146
2
223
" i
280
11
377
22
717
192
i'
21
10,917
43
17,907
108
8,381
172
1
1
15,607
168
2
26,230' 404
1
10
3
Class alleged
^United States citi-
zens
iWives of United
States citizens. .
Returning laborers
Returning mer
chants
Other merchants. ;
of mer-
families.
Members
chants'
^ students
Travelers
Teachers
'Officials
Miscellaneous ....
Granted or denied
the privilege of|
transit in bond
across land ter-
ritory of the
United States . .
1922
Total 17,264
396
1,467
764
649
1,360
682
112
26
287
238
7,239
89
604
1923
4,690
387
1,453
980
497
1,377
576
116
28
172
282
6,017
19 16,575 770
155
64
C >
33
33
4,754
396
1,340
1,229
452
1,096
642
105
39
149
492
8.573
19,267 1,051
306 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
ent laws that will permit even a limited admission of thei 'i
laborers into this country. :jr
Due to the objections of the Japanese Government
other proposed methods of excluding Asiatics from thij
United States, the so-called latitude and longitude plan wa: ji^
worked out and included in the Immigration Law of 19171'
This clause awkwardly, but nevertheless, effectively, closec*
the door against virtually all Asiatic immigration not al
ready barred by the Chinese Exclusion Law and Treat},
and the ''Gentlemen's Agreement" with Japan, the lattei;
of which, however, has been abrogated by the Act of 1924i
In fact, the Act of 1917 provided for the exclusion of the
Japanese under this clause in the event that the ''Gentle-ij
men's Agreement" should become inoperative.*^ \
As we have noted in a previous chapter the clause re-^
ferred to denies admission into the United States to thei
following classes of aliens: !
''Unless otherwise provided for by existing treaties, per-'
sons who are natives of islands not possessed by the United]
States adjacent to the Continent of Asia, situate south of
the twentieth parallel of latitude north, west of the one
hundred and sixtieth meridian of longitude east from
Greenwich, and north of the tenth parallel of latitude
south, or who are natives of any country, province, or de-
pendency situate on the Continent of Asia west of the one
hundred and tenth meridian of longitude east from Green-
wich and east of the fiftieth meridian of longitude east from
Greenwich and south of the fiftieth parallel' of latitude
north, except that portion of said territory situate between
the fiftieth and the sixty-fourth meridians of longitude east
from Greenwich and the twenty-fourth and thirty-eighth
parallels of latitude north, and no alien now in any way ex-
cluded from, or prevented from entering, the United States
■"The following inconspicuous sentence which appears in this clause,
would seem to be a method of excluding by United States law all those
classes of Japanese who were at the time being excluded under the
Gentlemen's Agreement: "No alien now in any way excluded from, or
prevented from entering, the United States shall be admitted to the
United States "
CHINESE IMMIGRATION
307
all be admitted to the United States." The rest of the
lause deals with the exemption of certain persons because
of status or occupation, from this provision of the law.
Briefly stated the restricted area described in the pro-
' vision quoted included India, Siam, Indo-China, Afghani-
stan, parts of Russian Turkestan, and Arabia on the con-
tinent of Asia, and New Guinea, Borneo, Sumatra, and Java
as well as many lesser islands. The Phihppines and Guam,
iand a large part of China, are also within the described
area, but of course the islands named are ^'possessed by the
United States" and accordingly are not affected, while the
I Chinese are barred under the exclusion law as noted above.
Japan and her possessions were entirely omitted from the
restricted area, and they were thus favored until the Act
of 1924 went into effect on July 1, 1924.
The immediate practical effect of this latitude and longi-
tude clause has been to check the coming of the east In-
^dians or Hindus to the Pacific coast. In the opinion of the
Commissioner of the State Bureau on Labor Statistics in
California, ''The Hindu is the most undesirable immigrant
in the State." While the immigration from India was never
large, yet there was always a fear that many might desire
to come. Canada adopted a drastic policy of exclusion
against them in order to prevent what promised to become
a veritable deluge of Hindu immigration into British Col-
umbia. Except for a very inhospitable attitude the United
States had no effective legal means of dealing with the mat-
ter until this geographical or barred zone test was enacted.
This provision, however, has effectively solved the problem
of immigration from India and the other countries included
in the barred zone, since it absolutely prohibits it, with the
exception of the exempt classes.
CHAPTER X
Japanese Immigration ^ i
Analysis of the Japanese population in the United States — ^Japanese and
Chinese immigration compared — Japanese in Hawaii — Causes and results
of Japanese emigration — The development of anti-Japanese agitation in
the United States — California's position — Act of 1907 — The Gentlemen's
Agreement — Treaties of 1894 and 1911 — Criticisms of the Agreement —
House Report 350 — History of the Japanese Exclusion law of 1924 — Effect
of the Hanihara letter — The bill in conference — The fear of a treaty —
Passage — Japan's protest — Analysis of the law — Japanese opinion — Ameri-
can opinion — Japanese fear of and protest against discriminatory legisla-
tion— Views of American officials — Conclusions.
From the time that Commodore M. C. Perry in 1853
virtually forced Japan to open her doors and to sign com-
mercial treaties with the United States, Great Britain and
Russia, Japanese gradually sifted into the outside world.
However, it was not until the year 1885 that the Japanese
government authorized its subjects to go abroad, but with
the stipulation that the emigrant should never lose his alle-
giance to the Mikado. It was not until 1916 that Japan
enacted an Expatriation law, providing that a Japanese
acquiring another nationality may lose Japanese nation-
ality by petitioning the Minister of Foreign Affairs, under
the condition, however, that he must first perform his mili-
tary service, if above seventeen years of age.
The increase of the Japanese population in the United
States has been as follows:-
^ Extensive use has been made of the following two pamphlets in writ-
ing this chapter:
(a) "Japanese Immigration," by R. L. Buell, World Peace Foundation
Paini)hlot, Vol. VH, Nos. 5-6, and (b) ''An Analysis of the American
Immigration Act of 1924," by J. B. Trevor, International Conciliation
Pamphlet No. 202, September, 1924.
^14th Annual Census of the UD ted States, Vol. II, p. 29.
308
JAPANESE IMMIGRATION
309
Japanese Chinese '
1870 55
1880 148 105,465
1890 2,039 107,488
1900 24,326 89,863
1910 72,157 71,531
1920 111,010 61,639
This 111,010 was composed of the following:
Native born 29,672
Foreign born 81,338
Naturalized 572
First papers 270
Thus, about 27.2% of the Japanese population of the con-
tinental United States was born in this country, and is com-
posed, therefore, of American citizens.^
An examination of the figures given above for Japanese
and Chinese immigration into the United States would seem
to make it clear that since the enactment of the Chinese
Exclusion Act, approved May 6, 1882, there has been not
only a steady, but a very heavy fall in the number of Chin-
ese enumerated within the borders of the United States.
On the other hand, under an arrangement designed to ac-
complish in respect to the Japanese, a similar result, the
latter element has increased. During only ten years of the
period in which the Gentlemen's Agreement was in force,
in the decade 1910-1920, we find a very heavy increase in
the Japanese population, viz., approximately 54%. While
it is true that the expansion of the Japanese population
during these ten years amounting in all to 38,853, includes
increase by birth, the census enumeration of the foreign
born during that period discloses an addition to our popula-
tion of 13,758 by immigration; viz., the difference between
a foreign Japanese population of 67,744 in 1910 and 81,502
in 1920. On the other hand, the Japanese Ambassador,
quoting from the reports of the United States Commis-
sioner of Immigration, asserted in his note to the Secretary
of State, dated April 10, 1924, that ^^in the years 1908-1923,
the total number of Japanese admitted to and departed
from the continental United States were, respectively, 120,-
* Inserted here in order to compare them.
* 14th Annual Census of the United States, Vol. II, p. 804.
310 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
317 and 111,636. In other words, the excess of those admit-
ted over those departed was in 15 years only 8,681."
Against these figures, however, must be placed the follow-
ing table taken from the Annual Report of the Commis-
sioner-General of Immigration, 1923:^
Fiscal year Japanese Japanese
(ended June 30) immigrant aliens emigrant aliens '
1912 6,172 1,501
1913 8,302 733
1914 8,941 794
1915 8,609 825
1916 8,711 780
1917 8,925 722
1918 10,168 1,558
1919 10,056 2,127
1920 9,279 4,238
1921 7,531 4,352
1922 6,361 4,353
1923 5,652 2,844
The situation which has developed in Hawaii as a result
of Oriental immigration would seem to be fraught with
political, economic, and social problems of great complexity.
Suffice it to say that in 1920 out of a population amounting
to 255,912 persons, 109,274 were Japanese, of whom 60,888
were foreign born.
In Hawaii the situation is as follows :
Population.'
1920
Total 255,912
Japanese 109,274
Japanese percentage of total 42.7
''Page 30.
"These figures for Japanese immigrant and emigrant aliens differ from
the figures cited in the annual reports of the Commissioner-General in
the table, "Increase or decrease of Japanese population by alien admis-
sions and departures." Thus, under the latter head, for 1922 the ad-
missions to Continental United States were 8,981, the departures were
11,173, a decrease of 2,192. For 1923 the admissions were 8,055, the
departures 8,393, a decrease of 338. For 1924 the figures were 11,526 and
9,248 respectively, an increase of 2,278. For 1925 the figures were re-
spectively 3,222 and 7,265, a decrease of 4,043, while for 1926 the admis-
sions were 4,652 and the departures 7,751, a decrease of 3,099. Since the
figures given in the table for the years 1912 to 1924 are limited to "Japa-
nese immigrant and emigrant aliens" they are naturally not as general
as "ahen admissions and departures." Obviously this explains the appa-
rent contradictions involved. See Annual Reports of the Commissioner-
General of Immigration for the years referred to.
'14th Annual Census of the United States, 1920, Vol. Ill, p. 1172.
1910 1900
191,909 154,001
79,675 61,111
41.5 39.7
JAPANESE IMMIGRATION
311
Between 1900 and 1910 the Japanese population in-
creased 1.8% in relation to the total population, and be-
tween 1900 and 1910 it increased 1.2%. Since 1920 the
I Japanese proportion has slightly declined. In 1921 it was
I 41.6% of the total; 1922, 41.1%; and in 1923, 40.4%.8 The.
I! Japanese men in Hawaii are married in a higher ratio than |
are the men of any other racial group. ^ But the Japanese !
birth rate is lower than the birth rate of all other racial
groups, except the American and North European.
According to the report of the Commissioner-General for
1924 there were 3,516 Japanese admitted and 2,779 de-
parted from Hawaii in 1923. In 1924 the figures were re-
spectively 4,172 and 2,495 or a gain of 1,677.^1 In 1925
there was a decrease of 1,038, the admissions being 965 and
the departures being 2,003.^^ For 1926 the figures were
1,126 and 2,640 respectively, a decrease of 1,514.^^
Japan's emigration problem has been aggravated by the
size of her population. Japan is inhabited by about 56,000,-
000, while her territory is only about the size of the state
rof California. History would seem to indicate that emigra-
tion will not solve the over-population problem, and this
view has apparently been accepted by some Japanese
statesmen who are looking, rather, to the industrialization
I of Japan. 1* At any rate, such a step has been forced on her
since she finds the door closed to her emigrants in Australia,
j New Zealand, Canada and the United States.
In so far as the United States is concerned, the situation
: 'Adams, R., "The Japanese in Hawaii," Foreign Affairs, December 15,
i 1923 ; and published separately in enlarged form by the American-Japanese
Relations Committee, p. 7.
'14th Annual Census of the United States, Vol. Ill, p. 1183. Cf. Labor
Problems in Hawaii, H. Rept. 1717, 2 pts., 67th Congress, 4th session, Feb-
ruary 26-27, 1923.
Cf. Survey of Education in Hawaii, Department of the Interior, Bu-
reau of Education, Bulletin No. 16, 1920, p. 15.
"Page 148, Annual Report of Commissioner-General of Immigration,
.1924.
"Page 178, Annual Report of Commissioner-General of Immigration,
1925.
" Page 158, Annual Report of Commissioner-General of Immigration,
1926.
" See article by Marquis Kin-ichi Komura, "Japan's Safety Valves,"
in Liberty Magazine, Januaiy 22, 1927, p. 33.
312
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
is complicated by some considerations of a political nature^
which must be considered owing to the fact that they havej
distinct bearing upon certain provisions of the Act of 1924.i
For example — The Gentlemen's Agreement was an under-
standing between the Government of the United States and
that of Japan, by which the latter voluntarily undertook to
adopt and enforce administrative methods designed to-
check immigration to the United States from Japan. Yet,
it was only after prolonged negotiation and continued pres-
sure that the Japanese government since March 1, 1920,
has discontinued the issuance of passports to the so-called
picture 'brides. Now, a picture bride has been regarded by
the people on the Pacific coast as not merely a prospective «
wife and potential mother of large families of Japanese!
children, but also she has been in fact a field laborer. Ob-|
viously, therefore, the entry of an indefinite number ofji
picture brides tended to render null and void the effect'
which was unquestionably intended on the part of theil
United States, in entering upon the Gentlemen's Agree-;
ment, even if in fact, there was no technical violation of
the understanding. Unfortunately so far as reaching anj
ultimate solution of the immigration problem was con-
cerned, the Japanese Government introduced the system of
Kankodan brides; that is to say — "In order to assist the
Japanese laborers and colonists in this country to get a
Kankodan bride instead of a picture bride, the Japanese
Government officially made this change in the law, that
where visitors from California and the coast going back to
Japan had only 30 days in which to stay there, unless they ^
were prepared to do their conscription duty, that period]
was extended to 90 days in the event that they came fori
the purpose of getting a bride, and financial interests so
arranged matters that the laborer desiring a bride could
enter into a Kankodan party and secure his bride from ^
Japan at a cost which was not much, if any, in excess of the
price which would have been paid by him under the picturetj
bride system." J
" Hf';irin{rs before the Senate Committee on Immigration, 68th Con-j
gress, First Session on S. 2576, p. 27. Testimony of Mr. McClatchy
JAPANESE IMMIGRATION
313
Furthermore, there is the question of dual allegiance.
"There have been/' said Mr. McClatchy, ''in the neighbor-
hood of 90,000 Japanese born under the American flag in
continental United States and in Hawaii. Three years ago
I had an official report from, I think it was, the department
of Justice in Tokyo, and there was exactly 64 of that entire
number who had been permitted to expatriate under the
laws of Japan. They were claiming and exercising the
rights of American citizenship,^^ and all but 64 of those
94,000 were tied to Japan and compelled to do her will in
peace and in war."^"^
Finally, a curious situation resulted from the fact that
"Section 3 of the immigration law of 1917, describing and
defining the barred zone, specifically provides that the ex-
empts'of that zone must, while in the United States, main-
tain their status, and that their wives and minor children
must similarly maintain while in the United States a status
placing them within the excepted classes, and that failure
to maintain such a status shall subject them to deportation.
In the case of the Chinese exclusion law and the Japanese
Gentlemen's Agreement that requirement does not appear,
although it would seem that the clear intent of Congress
was that the exempts of these countries and races shall
maintain their exempt status and be subject to deportation
when that status is lost. By the decisions of the courts,
however, a different rule now obtains as to the Chinese and
Japanese, and as a result great numbers are annually added
from the representatives of these races who enter as ex-
empts to the wage-earning population of the United States
by virtue of those admitted as exempts becoming wage-
However, there are other nations which do likewise.
" Hearings before the Committee on Immiu;ration, United States Senate,
Sixty-eighth Congress, First Session on S. 2576, page 7. Mr. McClatchy's
< testimony is substantiated by the following paragraph appearing in a
dispatch to the New York Times, dated Tokyo, July 8, 1924:
"The Japanese Cabinet today approved an important bill to permit
Japanese citizens residing abroad who have not taken the oath of alle-
giance by serving the Japanese Army to relinquish their native citizenship.
"This will allow the children born of Japanese parentage in the United
f States who have so far had both American and Japanese citizenship to
discard the latter." {New York Times, July 9, 1924.)
314
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
earners, and their wives and children similarly entering in-
dustry as wage earners."^^
The first anti-Japanese agitation in the United States
broke out in the year 1900. It was caused by the increas-
ing number of Japanese who entered the country. Begin-
ning with 1891 over a thousand Japanese entered annually,
subject only to the restriction of the general immigration
laws. As a result of this increase, meetings in San Francisco
demanded the extension of the Chinese exclusion laws to the
Japanese.^^ In July, 1900, the Japanese Government de-
cided to prohibit entirely ''for the present, the emigration
from Japan to Canada and also to the United States." This
method did not prove effective, however, especially as Jap-
anese continued to enter the United States from Hawaii.
In February, 1905, a new anti-Japanese campaign was
organized in San Francisco, which was led by the Japanese
and Korean Exclusion League. Exclusion bills were intro-
duced into Congress, but they met the opposition of Presi-
dent Roosevelt, because of their discriminatory nature. In
October, 1906, the San Francisco School Board passed a
resolution ordering all Japanese children to attend the
Oriental school in Chinatown. This led to the vigorous
protest of the Japanese government, and on October 23,
1906, Secretary of State Root telegraphed Ambassador
Wright, that ''the United States will not for the moment
entertain the idea of any treatment of the Japanese people
other than that accorded to the people of the most friendly
European nations." In his message to Congress of Decem-
ber 3, 1906, President Roosevelt said, "To shut them (the
Japanese) out of the public schools is a wicked absurdity." j
He recommended the passage of an act providing for natur-!'
alization of the Japanese. The President finally persuaded I
the School Board to rescind its resolution on the under-i
standing that the President would bring Japanese immigra- f
tion to an end. :
" Annual Report of the Secretary of Labor, for the fiscal year ended |
Juno 30, 1923, pa^^e 113.
"•Buell, R. L., "The Development of the Anti-Japanese A"-itation in the |
United States," Political Science Quarterly, December, 1922, and March
1923.
JAPANESE IMMIGRATION 315
It is to be noted from this that the early opposition to
the Japanese came from California, and to this day, Cali-
fornia has fought their admission, although she has been
aided by other Pacific and Western States in recent years.
California's opposition can be easily understood when it is
recalled that about two-thirds of the Japanese in the
United States are found in California. In 1911 the excess
of Japanese births over deaths in California was 523; in
1921 it was 4,379. During 1921 and 1922 there were 540
births for every 100 deaths among the Japanese in Cali-
fornia. For the whites there were 142 births for every 100
deaths. The Japanese have a birth rate of 341.2 per thou-
sand married women of child-bearing age compared with
a rate of 131.0 for the whole population and 124.8 for the
white women in California, which means that the Japanese
birth rate is about three times that of the white. About
43% of the Japanese mothers have more than three chil-
dren; while only about 24% of white mothers have families
larger than this.^^ In 1920 about 50%' or 60% of the Jap-
anese in California were engaged in agriculture. They con-
I trolled 92% of the strawberries; 89% of the celeries; 83%
of the asparagus; 64%' of the cantaloupes; 75% of the
onions; and 66% of the tomatoes, which constituted about
13% of the total value of the annual agricultural produc-
tion of the State. In 1920 the total amount of land under
Japanese control, 458,056 acres, constituted one-half of one
per cent of the total land area and 1.6% of the farm land of
fthe State. The holdings were as follows:
I Owned by Japanese individuals 26,988
Owned by American corporations with Japanese shareholders 47,781
1 Cultivated by Japanese under cash-rent leases 192,150
, Cultivated by Japanese under crop-share contract 121,000
! Cultivated by Japanese under labor contract 70,137
458,056
The following statements illustrate the general attitude
of Cahfornians toward the Japanese immigrants in that
state
Figures of the California Registrar of Vital Statistics.
316 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
In a memorial to Congress, the California Constitutional
Convention in 1879 stated:
"As became a people devoted to the National Union, and
filled with profound reverence for law, we have repeatedly,
by petition and memorial, through the action of our Legis-
lature, and by our Senators and Representatives in Con-
gress, sought the appropriate remedies against this greatj|
wrong, and patiently awaited with confidence the action of
the General Government. Meanwhile this giant evil has
JAPANESE IMMIGRATION
317
frrown, and strengthened, and expanded; its baneful effects
upon the material interests of the people, upon public mor-
als, and our civilization, becoming more and more apparent,
until patience is almost exhausted, and the spirit of dis-
content pervades the state. It would be disingenuous in
us to attempt to conceal our amazement at the long delay
bf appropriate action by the National Government towards
ithe prohibition of an immigration which is rapidly ap-
fproaching the character of an Oriental invasion, and which
threatens to supplant the Anglo-Saxon civilization on this
Coast."
In an article, ^The Japanese Invasion," Mr. John S.
Chambers, Controller of the State of California stated:-^
"There is no need of excitement over Japanese threats.
It is natural that they should feel as their talk indicates,
ito say nothing of the obvious purpose to influence opinion,
land, if possible, to strike a bargain. California has won,
and she feels happy and secure in the victory, limited
though it is.
i "There has been more or less talk of superiority and in-
^feriority as between the races, but not a great deal. The
f issue is a fundamental difference, an unbridgeable differ-
ence; not one of superiority or inferiority. Granting equal-
ity, the standards of the races are almost as opposite as the
poles, and there is no possibility of a common trend ever
being evolved. Assimilation is impossible. . . . Their ra-
,cial instinct is very decidedly developed. The two peoples
run along different lines physically, morally, socially, eco-
, nomically, and politically. As they differ in color, so do
they in traditions, habits, and aspirations. Obviously,
therefore, it is unwise for the two races to meet in numbers.
If they should the clash is inevitable. The situation in
California is bad enough now; it must not be permitted to
^become worse. . . .
"I wish to emphasize the fact that we of California are
not acting in a spirit of hatred, vindictiveness or retaliation.
We are actuated by the instinct of self-preservation. We
I * The Annals, January, 1921.
318 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
see the danger that threatens not only California and th i
Pacific Coast, but which may involve our country as ,
whole. For Japan and Japanese on their proper side of th i
Pacific we have only good wishes; on this side, we canno;
feel so because we know that what they would considej
their good would mean our undoing."
In an article by V. S. McClatchy, publisher of the Saci
ramento Bee, he declared:--
'There are three principal elements in the menace threat ,
ened by Japanese immigration to this country. The; \
are: ,
"1. The non-assimilability of the Japanese race; th
practical impossibility of making out of such material valu
able and loyal American citizens. i
''2. Their unusually large birth rate per thousand popu,
lation, already shown in California to be three times that Cj,
the whites, notwithstanding that the estimated proportioi
of adult females to males among the Japanese is only 1 tl
4, while among the whites it is, say, 1 to 1.
''3. The great advantages which they possess in economiij
competition, partly due to racial characteristics, and partlji
to standards of living, organization, direction and aid froni
their government. These advantages make it hopeless ioi
American whites to compete with them.
"It should be evident that we cannot encourage or permi
in our midst the development of an alien element possess!
ing these characteristics without inviting certain disastel
to our institutions and to the nation itself. The evidence 0]i|
each of these points is apparently incontrovertible.
"As to non-assimilability, the first element mentioned iiii
the Japanese menace, there are three main reasons why ij
is useless to attempt the making of good American citizen!
out of Japanese material, save of course in exceptional in
dividual instances. The Japanese cannot, may not and wi]
not provide desirable material for our citizenship. . i
"1. The Japanese cannot assimilate and make good citi
'^"Japanese in the Melting Pot: Can They Assimilate and Make Ooo
Citizens?" in The Annals, January, 1921.
JAPANESE IMMIGRATION
319
izens because of their racial characteristics, heredity and re-
lligion.
^'2. The Japanese may not assimilate and make good citi-
(zens because their Government claims all Japanese, no
matter where born, as its citizens.
' ''3. The Japanese will not assimilate and make good citi-
zens. In the mass, with opportunity offered, and even
when born here, they have shown no disposition to do so,
ibut, on the contrary, pronounced antagonism."
In an article, ''California — White or Yellow?'^ Marshall
De Motte, Chairman of the State Board of Control of Cali-
fornia, stated:-^ 'The question of the mixture of Orientals,
particularly Japanese, with whites, while it has its economic
side, is nevertheless a race problem in the last analysis. Not
!of an inferior race seeking to mix with a superior race, for
at no time have we cast reflection on the Chinese as to their
dependability, honesty, and shrewdness in business nor on
!the Japanese as to their thrift, industry and finesse in
diplomacy. We respect both of these members of the Mon-
[golian race but the fact cannot be dodged that they either
(must not come or if permitted to come must not be allowed
ito gain a foothold that will eventually enable them to con-
1;rol a single state of the nation as they virtually control
OEawaii today."
Senator James D. Phelan of California would seem to
have summed up the situation in his state in the following
brief article, which I quote here in full:
S ^'The solution of the Japanese problem, growing out of
I the California situation, requires prompt action by Con-
fess. It is charged with danger. The people of Japan, as
I well as the people of the eastern States, should be informed
I in a spirit of frankness. There should be no misunderstand-
ing, because misunderstandings breed trouble.
"Great numbers of Japanese, men and women, are in Cali-
fornia, and are acquiring large tracts of agricultural land.
!The state law^ forbade ownership by aliens ineligible to citi-
zenship, but the Japanese took deeds in the name of their
i "The Annals, January, 1921. ^ Ihid,
320 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
children born on the soil or in the names of the coi-porations i
and so circumvented the intent of the law. The initiative !
law adopted at the recent November elections will, it is |
hoped, prevent this circumvention, thus making further
land acquisition impossible. The Japanese also lease lands
and work for a share of the crop, and when thus working
for themselves are impossible competitors, and drive thei
white settlers, whose standards of living are different, from^
their farms. The white farmer is not free from cupidity
when tempted by Japanese to sell out at high prices, and
they do sell out and disappear. The state, therefore, is'
obliged as a simple matter of self-preservation to prevent'
the Japanese from absorbing the soil, because the future ofl
the white race, American institutions, and western civiliza-
tion are put in peril. The Japanese do not assimilate with
our people and make a homogeneous population, and hence |
they cannot be naturalized and admitted to citizenship.!
Therefore, the question is principally economic and partly!
racial. Japan itself excluded Chinese in order to preserve|
her own people,^^ and that is what California, Australia,-^:'
and Canada are doing. Japanese statesmen must surely, ;
for these reasons, acquit Americans of race prejudice. Wei
are willing to receive diplomats, scholars and travelers from ;
Japan on terms of equality, but we do not want her labor-
ers. We admire their industry and cleverness, but for that'
very reason, being a masterful people, they are more dan-i
gerous. They are not content to work for wages, as do the'
Chinese, who are excluded, but are always seeking control,'
of the farm and of the crop. j
'immigration and naturalization are domestic questions, 1
and no people can come to the United States except'
upon our own terms. We must preserve the soil for the!
Caucasian race. California, by acting in time, before thej
evil becomes even greater, expects to prevent conflict!
^ Note by tho author — See Japanese Imperial Ordinance No. 352 of :
1899. Also footnote on pp. 109-10 of A. M. Poolcy's "Japan's Foreign
^ Note by the author— See Williard, "White Australian Policy," Ch. II
and Ch. VL
I JAPANESE IMMIGRATION 321
and to maintain good relations with the Japanese Govern-
ment.
'"The American Government rests upon the free choice of
the people, and a large majority of the people are engaged
I in farming pursuits. They form the backbone of every
country — the repository of morals, patriotism and thrift,
and in the time of their country's danger spring to its de-
; fense. They represent its prosperity in peace and its secur-
lity in war. The soil cannot be taken from them. Their
'standards of living cannot suffer from deterioration. Their
(presence is essential to the life of the state, I therefore urge
I the Japanese Government and people to put themselves in
our place and to acquit us of any other purpose in the ex-
clusion of oriental immigration than the preservation of our
(national life and the happiness and prosperity of the men
^and women who founded the Republic, and who have de-
veloped its resources, and who occupy the land. It is theirs
in trust for their posterity.
'The people of Asia have a destiny of their own. We shall
aid them by instruction and example, but we cannot suffer
: them to overwhelm the civilization which has been estab-
lished by pioneers and patriots and which we are dutifully
bound to preserve."
In the immigration act of February 20, 1907, the Presi-
dent was authorized to refuse entrance to immigrants who,
t to obtain entrance to the mainland, were using passports
originally issued to ''any country other than the United
States."-^ Under this authority, the President issued the
* proclamation of March 14, 1907, which ordered that "Jap-
anese or Korean laborers, skilled or unskilled, who have re-
j ceived passports to go to Mexico, Canada or Hawaii and
\ come therefrom, be refused permission to enter the conti-
i nental territory of the United States."-^ This proclamation
I was revised on February 24, 1913, so as not to use the
words "Japanese or Korean" but to bar all "such alien
" Repeated in Sec. 3 of the act of February 4, 1917.
^Department Circular No. 147, March 26, 1907; and Rule 21, Immi-
; gration Regulations of July 1, 1907.
322 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
laborers."-^ This method stopped Japanese immigration
from Hawaii and Mexico, but not directly from Japan. Thcs
act of 1907 also authorized the President to enter into ''sucfc'
international agreements as may be proper to prevent tht
immigration of aliens who, under the laws of the Unitec
States are or may be excluded from entering the Unitec
States, and of regulating any matters pertaining to such
immigration."^^
Under the vague authority of this act, President Roose-
velt entered into the so-called Gentlemen's Agreement oi\
1907-08. By this agreement the Japanese might continual
to issue passports to nonlaborers. But it promised not tc'
issue passports to laborers skilled or unskilled wishing to gc
to the continental United States with the exception of twc'
main classes: (1) those who return to resume a formerly'
acquired domicile; (2) parents, wives and children, under
twenty years of age, of laborers in the United States. The'
Japanese Government accepted the definition of ''laborer'
as given in the United States Executive order of April 8
1907. Although the agreement was not applicable tc*
Hawaii, Japan applied practically the same restrictive'
measures to immigration with that destination. The Jap-^
anese Government similarly limited immigration to Mexico i
The Gentlemen's Agreement was not embodied in a'
treaty which was submitted to and approved by the Senate
of the United States. It was merely an ''executive agree-'
ment" made by the President in virtue of his power to con-'
trol foreign relations.^ ^ The Japanese continued to be'
subject to the restrictions imposed on all immigrants by-
legislation and they were subject to the literacy test enacted
in 1917.
The;treaty of November 22, 1894, between Japan and the'
United States provided that "The citizens or subjects ol'
each of the High Contracting Parties shall have full liberty"
Rule 11, Regulations of the Department of Labor, in effect Oct. 15
1915, p. 153.
^34 Stat. 898, Sec. 39.
"See Corwin, E. S., The President's Control of Foreign Relations, pp
117-125.
[JAPANESE IMMIGRATION 323
to enter, travel or reside in any part of the territories of
the other Contracting Party ,/and shall enjoy full and per-
feet protection for their pe/sons and property." This ex-
II tremely wide provision was cut down by a subsequent
iitf (Paragraph in Article 2, )^hich declared that the above pro-
!itf vision should not ''in ^ny way affect the laws, ordinances
;! and regulations with regard to trade, the immigration of
I laborers, police an^ public security which are in force or
which may hereafter be enacted in either of the two coun-
tries."^^ This p/ovision would have permitted the United
States to enact an exclusion law without violating the
treaty.
This treaty of 1894 was supplanted by the treaty of Feb-
iruary 21, 1911. At the insistence of the Japanese Govern-
jment the provision of the 1894 treaty, exempting exclusion
(laws, was omitted. Article I of the treaty was changed to
read as follows: "The Citizens or subjects of each of the
IHigh Contracting Parties shall have liberty to enter, travel
and reside in the territories of the other to carry on trade,
wholesale and retail, to own or lease and occupy houses,
manufactories, warehouses and shops, to employ agents of
their own choice, to lease land for residential and commer-
I'cial purposes, and generally to do anything incident to or
! necessary for trade upon the same terms as native citizens
I or subjects, submitting themselves to the laws and regula-
jtions."^^ Article I of the treaty of 1894 appears to have
t authorized the free admission of Japanese into this country
[regardless of purpose, while Article I of the treaty of 1911
[appears to have authorized such admission only for pur-
poses of trade. In his letter of February 8, 1924, Secretary
iof State Hughes pointed out that pending immigration
legislation appeared to exclude aliens entitled to enter
under such treaties, and he suggested that the legislation
I should not apply to ''an alien entitled to enter the United
' States under the provisions of a treaty." The House Com-
imittee would not go this far, but did add this additional
""Malloy, Treaties and Conventions of the United States, p. 1028.
"Treaties of the United States, Vol. Ill, p. 2712.
324 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION I
exempted class: ''(6) An alien entitled to enter the United |
States solely to carry on trade under and in pursuance oi:
the provisions of a present existing treaty of commerce and ,
navigation.
The treaty of 1911 between Japan and the United States
was approved by the Senate subject to this understanding,
"That the treaty shall not be deemed to repeal or affect anyi;
of the provisions of the Act of Congress entitled 'An Act to
Regulate the Immigration of Aliens into the United States,'
approved February 20, 1907." This understanding was ac-
cepted by Japan. The treaty was accompanied by the fol-
lowing declaration of the Japanese Ambassador:
'Tn proceeding this day to the signature of the Treaty ofl
Commerce and Navigation between Japan and the Unitedl
States the undersigned, Japanese Ambassador at Washing-
ton, duly authorized by his Government, has the honor to
declare that the Imperial Japanese Government are fully
prepared to maintain with equal effectiveness the limitation .
and control which they have for the past three years exer- :
cised in regulation of the emigration of laborers to the-
United States.
February 21, 1911.^^ Y. Uchida.''
In the Immigration Act of February 5, 1917, the Gentle-
men's Agreement was indirectly recognized as follows : "and
no alien now in any way excluded from, or prevented from
entering, the United States shall be admitted to the United
States." It was again recognized in the Immigration Law
of May 19, 1921, which stated that the provision in regard
to quotas should not apply to "aliens from countries im-
migration from which is regulated in accordance with
treaties or agreements relating solely to immigration."
Government officials frequently declared that the Gentle-
men's Agreement was a satisfactory means of limiting im-
migration. In 1910, the Commissioner of Labor in Hawaii
said that the agreement had effectively stopped the influx
H. Report No. 350, Committee on Immipration and Naturalization,
68th ConGrross. 1st session, March 24. 1P24. p. 2.
Treaties of the United States, III, pp. 2717, 2718.
JAPANESE IMMIGRATION
325
of Japanese plantation labor there.^^ In May, 1916, Secre-
tary of Labor Wilson defended the agreement in a letter to
Senator Phelan.^'^ In another letter to the same Senator in
August, 1919, Hon. William Phillips, Acting Secretary of
State, likewise said that the Agreement 'Vas working with
a fair degree of satisfaction."^* The Agreement was de-
fended by Secretary Hughes in his letter to the House Com-
mittee, of February 8, 1924, and also by Ambassador Hani-
hara in his note of April 10. In 1913 President Roosevelt
wrote, ^'The arrangement we made (the Gentlemen's
Agreement) worked admirably, and entirely achieved its
purpose."^^
However, the Pacific coast was critical of the Agreement
from the beginning. In 1909 the California legislature
passed a resolution urging the extension of the Chinese Ex-
clusion Laws to the Japanese.^^ In 1913 it passed a land
law giving aliens ineligible to citizenship all rights to real
property granted by treaty, but no others, except the right
to lease land for three years."*^ According to section 2169
of the Revised Statutes, which is still in force, naturaliza-
tion is limited to ^'free white persons and to aliens of
African nativity and to persons of African descent." The
Supreme Court has finally decided that Japanese are not
"free white persons" and are not therefore eligible to citi-
zenship.^^ (Japanese born in the United States are, how-
ever, citizens.) As a result of the California land law of
1913 Japanese aliens could not acquire agricultural land.
In 1920 an initiative measure of even greater severity pro-
hibited leases and all other interests in real property.^^ As
a result of these measures, as interpreted by the Supreme
^Fourth Report of the Commissioner of Labor on Hawaii, 1910, Sen.
Doc. 866, 61st Congress, 3rd Session, Vol. 70, p. 51.
" 54 Congressional Record, p. 254.
^Printed, California and the Oriental, p. 142.
^"Roosevelt, Theodore, An Autohiogrophy (1913), p. 414.
'"California Statutes, 1909, p 1346.
*'Ibid., 1913, Chap. 113.
/"Ozawa V. United States, 260 U. S. 178 (1922). On the question of
citizenship see Van Dyne, Citizenship of the United States, and McGov-
ney, "American Citizenship," Columbia Law Review, XI, 231, 326.
*^ 1921 California Statutes, pp. Ixxxvii-xc.
326 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
Court, the Japanese were deprived of the use of more than
300,000 acres of land which they had held by forms other
than ownership. Arizona passed a similar law in February
1921.^^. Washington and Texas also passed land laws,
somewhat less discriminatory than the California and Ari-
zona laws. They allow aliens to acquire land upon the same
basis as citizens if they have legally declared their inten-
tions to become citizens of the United States.^^ Since Japan-
ese are ineligible to citizenship, they are effectually barred.*^
In 1919, the California Senate again urged federal action
in regard to Japanese immigration.^^ On June 19, 1920,
the State Board of Control made a report, entitled ''Cali-
fornia and the Oriental," which was transmitted to the Sec-
retary of State of the United States by Governor W. D.
Stephens. In this letter the Governor pointed out the
increase of the Japanese population in California, which,
in his opinion, proved that the Gentlemen's Agreement had
not worked.^^ Particularly he criticized the entrance of
''picture brides" — Japanese women married by proxy in
Japan to Japanese laborers in America, and who were there-
upon given passports to the United States. The Japanese
Government voluntarily stopped issuing passports to "pic-
ture brides," beginning March 1, 1920, although they were
admissible as "wives" under the Gentlemen's Agreement.
Arizona Session Laws, 1921, Chap. 29, p. 2.
Washington Session Laws, 1921, Chap. 50; cf. Alien Land Laws and
Ahen Rights, H. Doc. 89, 67th Cong., 1st sess., June 2, 1921.
In a series of cases these alien land laws were sustained as against
complaints founded on treaties and on the Fourteenth Amendment
Terrace v. Thompson (1923), 263 U. S. 197; Porterfield v. Webb (1923)
263 U. S. 225; Webb v. O'Brien (1923), 263 U. S. 313; Frick v. Webb
(1923), 263 U. S. 326. However, the denial to an alien of a license to be
a pawnbroker was held to be forbidden by the federal treaty with Japan.
Asakura v. Seattle (1924), 265 U. S. 332. In the state of Ohio ex rel
James Clarke v. Auditor of the City of Cincinnati; the U. S. Supreme
Court sustained the city's denial to an (English) alien of a permit to
operate a pool room; the denial being reasonable under the city's police
powers. Many important cases are cited by the Court. See No. 272;
Sup. Court of U. S., May 16, 1927. (United States Daily, May 20, 1927.)
California Senate Journal, 1919, p. 1377.
**The accuracy of this report was attacked by K. Kanzaki, Secretary
of the Japanese Association of America, Hearings, "Japanese Immigra-
tion." Committee on Immigration and Naturalization, 1921, pp. 727, 728.
*^ California and the Oriental, pp. 7. 14.
JAPANESE IMMIGRATION
327
In his 1920 report the Commissioner-General of Immi-
gration declared that despite the Agreement, Japanese sur-
reptitiously entered this country from Mexico and South
America. He said that the Agreement needed to be clari-
fied and that it should be jointly administered by the United
States and Japan instead of by Japan alone.^^
On April 27, 1921, the California legislature passed a
resolution urging Congress to pass an exclusion law. On
May 18, 1923, it passed another resolution urging the ex-
clusion of aliens ineligible to citizenship.^^
On March 24, 1924, the House Committee on Immigra-
tion and Naturalization made a report, entitled ^'Restric-
tion of Immigration," accompanying H. R. 7995, part of
which is as follows:
'The Supreme Court of the United States has decided
that certain nationals of oriental countries are not entitled
to be naturalized as citizens of the United States under our
naturalization laws. . . . The Committee feels justified in
offering a provision that persons ineligible to citizenship
. shall not be admitted as 'immigrants'. All must agree that
nothing can be gained by permitting to be built up in the
United States, colonies of those who cannot, under the law,
become naturalized citizens, and must therefore owe
allegiance to another government.
"A majority of the committee has been favorably dis-
posed to such a policy for two years, and careful investiga-
tion has strengthened that sentiment until it has become
the settled conviction of practically the entire committee.
"Considerable opposition has been offered to this provi-
sion by or on behalf of Japan, but no other nation affected
thereby has offered protest. . . .
"As far as concerns conflict with the Gentlemen's Agree-
ment the committee is somewhat handicapped in reaching
a conclusion by a lack of information as to the exact pro-
visions of that agreement. It consists of correspondence
^ Annual Report of the Commissioner-General of Immigration, 1920,
pp. 18, 19. The Japanese Government declared its willingness to revise
the Agreement.
"California Statutes, 1921, p. 1774.
"California Statutes, 1923, Chap. 60.
328 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
between Japan and our Department of State which has not
been made public and access to which cannot be had by
this committee without permission of Japan, as explained
in the letter of the Secretary of State.
'This much is certain, however, as indicated by instruc-
tions to immigration officials at the ports of entry. Under
the agreement the United States bound itself to admit any
Japanese who presents himself bearing Japan's passport,
unless he be afflicted with contagious disease,^^ that is to
say, the congressional prerogative of regulating immigration
from Japan has been surrendered to the Japanese Govern-
ment.^'^ That condition, coupled with the fact that the
terms of the agreement are secret, would justify immediate
cancellation of the agreement.
"It is a curious fact that the Department of Labor, hav-
ing charge of immigration, 'is not in possession of the Gen-
tlemen's Agreement and never has been supplied with the
same,' as stated in a letter from the Labor Department of
February 15, 1924. ..."
The agreement was consummated under direction of
Theodore Roosevelt while President. He makes it clear,
through official correspondence (amounting to a compact)
with the Legislature of California, and by statements m
his autobiography, that the real intent agreed upon with
Japan, was to be more restrictive. Under this plan Japan
was to prevent the coming of her people to continental
United States so that the Japanese population therein
would not increase, it being frankly explained by Roosevelt
that an increase of Japanese in this country, with their ad-
vantages in economic competition and general unassimila-
bility, would be certain to lead to racial strife and possible
trouble between the two nations.
There is no question that the purpose of the agreement
as thus explained by Roosevelt has not been carried out. It
"The accuracy of this statement should be checked against Table XVI,
Report of the Conunissioner-Gcneral of Immigration, 1922, which shows
that 47 Japanese were debarred from entering the United States, but
only 10 of whom were debarred because of contagious disease.
"The italics are mine.
JAPANESE IMMIGRATION 329
is clearly established that the Japanese population of con-
tinental United States has very materially increased during
the operation of the agreement, partly by direct immigra-
tion and partly by birth, and doubtless also partly by sur-
reptitious entry.
Japan declares that she has maintained the conditions
of the agreement in good faith; and while not questioning
her good faith, we are concerned in the result. In certain
portions of the Pacific Coast the white race confronts the
very conditions foreseen by Roosevelt.
Since it is the earnest desire of the United States to con-
tinue and maintain its friendship with Japan, a fair and
effective remedy for this situation must be adopted at once.
Arrival of Laborers
Under the agreement thousands of Japanese women have
come in as laborers, designated on the manifests and in
the reports as such, and have performed the double duty
of field laborers and mothers of families averaging five chil-
dren. Even the stoppage of picture brides did not put an
end to this immigration, for it continued to come and served
the same purposes under the ^Kankodan bride' system.
The surreptitious entries of Japanese, partly through
Canada, but perhaps more extensively through Mexico,
must be very great. The information before this commit-
tee, from the Department of Labor and elsewhere, shows
that thousands leaving Japan with passports for South
America worked their way back through Mexico and the
Imperial Valley into California. While the Gentlemen's
Agreement continues in force, offering a bar to registration
and while our laws make surreptitious entries immune to
deportation after five years' residence, and place the bur-
den of proof upon our department officials, these surrepti-
tious entries cannot be guarded against.
It has been suggested that Japan be placed under the
quota, since the immigration from that country under the
1890 census would thus be reduced to a minimum. It has
330 IMIMIGRATION RESTRICTION
been stated that Japan would accept that solution. That
plan, however, is most objectionable, because it would at
once place Japan's nationals in the United States in conflict
with our naturalization laws, and it would also discriminate
in favor of the Japanese as against all other Asiatic races
ineligible to citizenship.
In considering this feature of the bill and Japan's pro-
tests, it should be borne in mind that while we seek only
to protect our citizens in this matter against the influx of
unassimilable aliens ineligible to citizenship, and are not
discriminating against Japan in the matter, Japan herself,
in the exercise of a similarly wise protection for her own
people, excludes the Chinese and Koreans and discrimi-
nates thereby against people of her own color in both cases,
and against the people of one of her Provinces in one case.
Position of English-Speaking Countries on the
Problem
The United States has acquired more Japanese popula-
tion than any other English-speaking country in the world;
and this increase of Japanese population within our ter-
ritory has occurred during the understanding between the
two Governments that such increase would be unwise in
the interests of both nations.
Great Britain many years ago made a treaty with her
ally, Japan, whereby the nationals of Japan were to have
favored consideration for residence and citizenship in all
the dominions of the Empire; but with the proviso that
any dominion could except this arrangement by notice be-
fore that treaty became effective.
South Africa, Austraha, and New Zealand promptly gave
the necessary notice and provided by various methods for
absolute exclusion of Japanese immigration, an action
which Japan has never protested. Canada failed to take a
similar action, but later sought to remedy the omission by
a Gentlemen's Agreement with Japan, limiting yearly ad-
mission from Japan to 400. This agreement has not worked
JAPANESE IMMIGRATION
331
satisfactorily in Canada, and the Dominion Parliament in
May, 1922, requested the Government to take immediate
action looking to excluding further oriental immigration.
Time to Remedy the Situation
It would appear from these facts that the United States
has been grossly lax in permitting the increase in her ter-
ritory of an unassimilable population ineligible for citizen-
ship, and that she has deferred too long the adoption of
remedial measures.
The exclusion of aliens ineligible for citizenship has been
strongly urged on Congress by the American Legion, the
American Federation of Labor, and the National Grange,
under resolutions adopted unanimously by the respective
national conventions of those organizations from year to
year. The absence of any political issue in the matter is
sufficiently demonstrated by the widely different composi-
tions and purposes of these national organizations, all im-
bued, however, by a strong spirit of Americanism."^^
So far as a student of this question may pass judgment
upon the motives impelling both parties to the controversy,
to adopt the policy which culminated in the passage by
Congress of exclusive legislation in the Act of 1924, it may
safely be assumed that various cabinets in power in Japan
throughout the critical period, have been afraid of a reper-
cussion of sentiment, should they yield by negotiations to
the American demand of exclusion on the basis in force
respecting the Chinese in the United States. On the other
hand, the Secretaries of State of the United States were
reluctant to press for a solution of a situation which might
result equally in respect to the administration which they
represented in a political overturn at the next election,
should such a policy precipitate a crisis. The difficulties of
such a situation have unquestionably been aggravated by
the fact that throughout the many years during which the
problem of oriental immigration has been agitated in and
"H. Kept. No. 350, 68th Cong., 1st sess., pp. 6-9.
332 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
out of Congress, the Japanese Government has persistently-
refused to permit the pubhcation of the correspondence
upon which the Gentlemen's Agreement was based. So
rigid had been the ban placed upon any disclosures respect-
ing the interchange of views, that the Committees of Con-
gress charged with the responsibility of the preparation of
immigration legislation had been unable to form an inde-
pendent judgment as to the terms of the engagement en- 1
tered into during Mr. Roosevelt's administration at the '
White House. On the other hand no one could have known
better than Mr. Roosevelt that in entering upon an agree-
ment which was in effect a treaty without complying with
the constitutional requirement that an international agree-
ment be submitted to the Senate for approval, we were
laying the groundwork for precisely such a political reac-
tion as developed upon the publication of the Japanese
Note.^^
In March, 1924, the House Committee on Immigration
and Naturalization reported an immigration bill (H. R.
7995), section 12 (b) of which provided that ''no alien in-
eligible to citizenship shall be admitted to the United
States unless such alien (1) is admissible as a non-quota
immigrant under the provisions of subdivisions (b), (d) or
(g) of section 4; or (2) is the wife or unmarried child under
18 years of age of an immigrant admissible under such sub-
division (d), and is accompanying or following to join him;
or (3) is not an immigrant as defined in section 3." These
exceptions would admit persons returning from a tempo-
rary visit abroad, merchants, ministers, and university pro-;
fessors, and bona fide students. Despite previous protests
of Secretary of State Charles E. Hughes and Ambassador
Hanihara, the House adopted the immigration bill contain- ^
ing this exclusion clause on April 12, 1924, by a vote of 1
323-71 (37 not voting). '^'^ No specific vote was taken, how-
The record of previous attempts to reach a solution of the immigra-
tion problem by treaty or negotiation is not such as to encourage further
efforts along this line. See remarks of Representative John C. Box, May
15. 1924 on this topic.
" Congressional Record, April 12, 1924, p. 6450.
JAPANESE IMMIGRATION
333
ever, on the exclusion clause, and Representative Burton of
iOhio was the only one to protest against it.^^
On April 10, 1924, Secretary Hughes addressed a letter
to Senator Colt, chairman of the Senate Committee on
Immigration, enclosing a note from the Japanese Ambas-
isador, in which the latter asserted that the passage of the
exclusion bill would have ^'grave consequences" upon the
"otherwise happy and mutually advantageous relations be-
tween Japan and the United States." Following the origi-
: nal suggestion of Secretary Hughes, the Senate Committee
had proposed to except from the quota provisions of the bill
I (S. 2576) '^an alien entitled to enter the United States
' under the provisions of a treaty or an agreement relating
solely to immigration." The Gentlemen's Agreement
would therefore be continued, while the quota would be
applied also to the Japanese, admitting only 146 a year.
Ij On April 8, Senator Reed of Pennsylvania, the author of
I the Senate bill, declared the Japanese ^^are a proud people,
1 everybody knows that, and they would resent an exclusion
I law just as we would resent an exclusion law passed by
I Japan." On the 9th he said that the quota would reduce
i Japanese immigration by fourteen-fifteenths.^^ But Sena-
! tor McKellar opposed the quota suggestion: ''Whenever we
1 permit a quota of 146, we have established a principle by
I which in the future Japanese can come in here as the sub-
! jeets of other nations come in. To that I am opposed . . .
because we can never assimilate that race with ours."
Although the Hanihara letter was printed in the Record
for April 11, it was not discussed until April 14. At that
: time the late Senator Lodge moved that the proposed
' amendment be discussed in executive session since it re-
j lated to foreign relations. The Senate thereupon went into
' secret executive session for 50 minutes, after which debate
upon the floor was reopened. The Hanihara letter was
brought into the discussion by Senator Lodge who charac-
""Ibid., p. 6441.
'"Cnriqrcssinnal Record, April 8, 1924, p. 5992. Cf. the debate, April 2,
1924. p. 5601.
'"Ibid., April 9. 1924, p. 6139. "/bzrf., p. 6155.
334 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
terized it as "improper/' a letter which contained a 'Veiled
threat" against the United States. 'The letter of the JapJ
anese Ambassador . . . has created a situation whichi
makes it impossible for me to support the pending amend- !
ment. . . . The amendment has now assumed the dignity
of a precedent, and I never will consent to establish any
precedent, which will give any nation the right to think,
that they can stop by threats or compliments the action ol
the United States when it determines who shall come within |
its gates and become part of its citizenship."
Senator Reed, although the Committee had originally
favored the continuation of the Gentlemen's Agreement, j|
said, ''Now, however, Mr. President, ... I think the situ-'
ation has changed. I think it ceases to be a question
whether this is a desirable method of restricting Japanese
immigration. The letter of the Japanese Ambassador puts
the unpleasant burden upon us of deciding whether we will
permit our legislation to be controlled by apprehension of
'grave consequences' with other nations if we do not follow
a particular line of legislative conduct. I, for one, feel com-
pelled, on account of that veiled threat, to vote in favor
of the exclusion and against the committee amendment.
"I say that with great regret, because I believe that this
action, which is forced upon us, means the waste of muchj
of the results of twenty years of excellent diplomacy. Itj
means the waste of much of the good feeling that followed!
the ratification of the Four-Power treaty, and it means a
loss of part of the good relations that followed the prompt J
and friendly action of America after the Japanese earth-
quake of last year. When I vote against the committee
amendment I expect to do so with a sad heart."
On the other hand, Senator Sterling (South Dakota)
said, "If we are going to exclude Japanese immigrants, letj
us exclude them because it is a wholesome thing, the right
thing, the just thing to do for the United States and for
the American people, and let us not make the letter of the
Congressional Record, April 14, 1924, p. 6498.
^'Ibid., p. 6499.
JAPANESE IMMIGRATION 335
Japanese ambassador the pretext of our action here today.
. . He pointed out that the Japanese ambassador had
expressly recognized the sovereign right of the United
States to exclude immigrants.
On the same day the Senate rejected the proposed amend-
ment recognizing the Gentlemen's Agreement, by a vote of
76-2 (18 not voting) .^^ On April 15 it adopted a new
amendment, providing for the exclusion of ''an alien in-
eligible to citizenship" without the yeas and nays being
called for.^^ And on the following day the same amend-
ment was passed again by a vote of 71-4 (21 not voting).
On April 18, the Senate voted to strike out all of the House
bill (H. R. 7995) except the enacting clause, and substitute
the Senate bill. This bill passed by 62-6 (28 not voting)
and was thereupon sent to conference, five managers being
appointed. On April 19, the House likewise agreed to a
conference and appointed five managers.^^ The House bill
provided that exclusion should become effective July 1,
1924, while the Senate bill made it effective at once.
On April 20, another note from Mr. Hanihara was re-
leased, in which he said he did not intend the words ^'grave
consequences" to be considered a ^Veiled threat." But
this had no effect on Congress.
The Conference committee, representing the Senate and
the House, held meetings on April 25, 26, 29, 30 and May
1, 3, and 6. The President of the United States, some time
before May 1, suggested that the immigration bill postpone
the application of the exclusion provision until March 1,
1925, subject to this stipulation:
'That the provisions of this paragraph shall not apply
to the nationals of those countries with which the United
States, after the enactment of this act, shall have entered
into treaties by and with the advice and consent of the
Senate for the restriction of immigration." "^^
'^Ibid., p. 6501. """Ibid., April 15, 1924, p. 6509.
Co7if/rcs!<io)ml Record, April 15, 1924, p. 6578.
''Ibid., April 16, p. 6656. Ibid., April 18, p. 6872.
Ibid., April 19, pp. 6955, 6959.
™Cf. romarks of Judge Raker, one of the conferees. Congressional
Record, May 9, 1924, pp. 8483, 8486.
336 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
The conferees, however, dechned to accept this provision
which would have enabled the President to provide for the
exclusion or ''restriction" of Japanese immigration by
treaty. At about 5:30 P. M. on May 6, the Conference
committee reached a full and final agreement. The com-
mittee adjourned until May 7 for the purpose of signing
the report. At that time the bill provided that the ex-
clusion clause should go into effect on July 1, 1924 — which
would give the Japanese now on the high seas an oppor-
tunity to enter the United States. But on May 7 the
President invited the Republican conferees to the White
House, and asked that exclusion be postponed until March
1, 1925. This suggestion — the second made by the Presi-
dent— was adopted and the conference report was accord-
ingly changed. As submitted to Congress it provided 'That
this subdivision shall not take effect as to exclusion until
March 1, 1925, before which time the President is requested
to negotiate with the Japanese Government in relation to
the abrogation of the present arrangement on this
subject." ^1
On May 8, the original conference report was laid before
the House. On the following day it was attacked by Mr.
Sabath, among others, who declared that in inserting new
matter into the bill, the conference had exceeded its powers
— a, point which the Chair, however, overruled. '^^ It was
pointed out that under the conference bill the Japanese
would be admitted on a quota basis until March 1, 1925.
But according to Mr. Albert Johnson, chairman of the
House Committee on Immigration, only about 80 would be
thus admitted.*^^
Congressmen opposed postponing the date to March 1,
1925, primarily because of the belief that the President
would make a treaty which would set aside or at least sup-
plant the exclusion law.
On May 2, 1924, four members of the House Committee
"Text of original conference report, Congressional Record, May 8,
1924. p. 8424, H. Ropt. 688.
pp. 8477, 8478.
''Ibid., p. 8479.
JAPANESE IMMIGRATION
337
on Immigration sent a letter to the House conferees on
the immigration bill, protesting against the settlement of
the Japanese immigration question by treaty. "After the
United States has agreed to consult the wishes and interests
of Asia as to immigration it could not consistently refuse
to consult the wishes of Europe and the rest of the world
in the same manner." The letter pointed out that the
executive branch of the United States Government had fre-
quently vetoed restrictive immigration measures passed by
Congress. It cited the veto of the Chinese exclusion Act of
1879 by Hayes; the veto of a similar act of 1882 by Arthur;
and the veto of the literacy test by Cleveland in 1897, Taft
in 1913, and Wilson in 1917. "To pass the control of our
immigration policy to the treaty-making power will com-
pletely silence the voice of the House of Representatives
therein. It would surrender a sovereign right and give to
foreign countries a power which the country has never
conceded."
In debating the conference report, Mr. Raker declared,
this provision, "is a waiver of the jurisdiction of the House
to legislate on immigration;" an immigration treaty "is
contrary to our form of government;" "the president has
no power to enter into a treaty in regard to immigration
whereby he may say that a foreign country can determine
who to consult a§ to how immigration shall come into this
country, because it is the yielding of sovereign power. . . .
It means we waive, that it is a relinquishment; it is getting
down on the knees and getting the President to enter into
a treaty that we may waive our rights, that we may fail to
do our duty, that we may violate the Constitution ; that we
might become subservient to a foreign country, that we are
afraid to enact the laws and enforce them, that we have
sworn we would do in regard to the sovereign rights of the
country." "^^
Other speeches in the House reflected the intensity of
local feeling. At the close of the debate, the House adopted
'* Letter printed in Conqressionnl Record, May 6, 1924, pp. 8193, 8194.
" Congressional Record, May 9, 1924, pp. 8484, 8485.
338 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
a motion by 191-171 (70 not voting), to recommit the bill
to conference with instructions not to agree to postponing
exclusion until March 1, 1925."^^
In the Senate, debate took place on the conference report
before it had formally been presented to that body."^^
Senator Robinson attacked the clause authorizing the Presi-
dent to negotiate as to the abrogation of the Gentlemen's
Agreement on the ground that ''it would seem to constitute
a recognition of the immigration question as a proper sub-
ject for international negotiations; it would seem to be an
abandonment of the position the Government of the United
States heretofore has maintained — that the question as to
who shall be admitted into the United States is purely a
domestic question." He went on to say that the confer-
ence report recognized the ''Gentlemen's Agreement as a
treaty obligation, and they refuse to recognize the right or
the power of Congress to legislate upon the subject until
the so-called Gentlemen's Agreement has been abrogated
or rescinded by a contract between this government and
Japan which they petition the President to negotiate. If
that principle is to be adopted, it constitutes a distinct
recognition of the force of the Gentlemen's Agreement as
superior to the right of Congress to legislate upon the
subject."
Senator Lodge declared that the immigration treaties
with China were a "mistaken policy". He went on to say
that "In my judgment, only the Congress of the United
States has that power . . . that is, the entire legislative
body of the United States must say to the rest of the world,
'We alone have the power to say who shall come into the
United States as immigrants.' "
Senator Reed said, "It is a matter of lively concern to
all the Christian people of the United States, I think, that
Christianity should be spread in foreign lands which at
present embrace other religions. We have hundreds of mis-
Congressional Record, May 9, 1924, p. 8498.
" The report was not presented because of the action of the House.
'"Congressional Record, May 8, 1924, p. 8344.
''Ibid., p. 8344. ""Ibid., p. 8346.
JAPANESE IMMIGRATION
339
sionaries scattered all over Japan; but the people who are
backing them up, the good Christian people of this country
who send them out and support them there, are all of them
concerned at the rough-shod way in which Congress has
established its decision here. ... It is perfectly obvious
that exclusion can be accomplished pleasantly as well as
unpleasantly. It is perfectly obvious that exclusion is go-
ing to be accomplished in one way or another, but the
President is anxious, I know, from what he has said to us,
to do it in such a way as shall not make the task of these
missionaries in Japan any harder, as shall not create un-
necessary friction for them, and shall not make our foreign
relations any more difficult.'^
Senator Shortridge said, ^'Inasmuch as it is a domestic
question, inasmuch as that domestic question is under the
jurisdiction of the legislative branch of our Government, it
follows that control of such a question is not within the
treaty-making power of this Government under the Con-
stitution." ^-
As a result of the action of the House of Representatives,
the conference bill was returned to the conference, where
the provision postponing Japanese exclusion until March
1, 1925, was removed. The revised conference report pro-
vided that the exclusion of aliens ineligible to citizenship
(section 13, c) should become effective July 1, 1924.^^ This
report was accepted and the bill passed on May 15, by the
House of Representatives by a vote of 308-62 (63 not vot-
ing) and by the Senate by a vote of 69-9 (18 not voting).
The immigration bill providing for the exclusion of aliens
ineligible to citizenship — a provision effective July 1, 1924,
was then sent to the President for his signature.
On May 18, 1924, Cyrus E. Woods, United States Am-
bassador to Japan, resigned, nominally on account of family
reasons. But on leaving Japan he criticized severely the
passage of the exclusion law. Upon his arrival in the
'^Congressional Record, May 8, 1924, p. 8349. Ibid., p. 8350.
Revised conference report, printed Congressional Record, May 12,
p. 8642; May 15, p. 8816.
'* Congressional Record, May 15, 1924, pp. 8836, 8882.
340
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
United States he declared that the Japanese Government
would, in his opinion, be willing to agree to almost any
form of restrictive treaty.^^ Ambassador Woods' resigna-
tion was followed by the return of Ambassador Hanihara to
Japan. On May 26, 1924, President Coolidge signed the
Immigration Act, which was accompanied by a statement
criticizing the method used by Congress to obtain exclusion.
The signature of the Act was followed by the formal protest
of Japan, of May 31, 1924, to which the United States re-
plied on June 16.^^
Sub-section (c) of Section 13 of the Act, aims to correct
the situation which has been hereinbefore described by pro-
viding that no alien ineligible to citizenship shall be admit-
ted to the United States; that is to say, although the
Japanese have figured almost exclusively in the controversy
over this section, its provisions apply to a population
amounting to perhaps a billion of people, of which the in-
habitants of Japan comprise barely three-score millions.^"^
(In other words, it eliminates all previous discrimination in
favor of Japan, as far as the other peoples of Asia are con-
cerned.) However, when the exceptions to this provision
are carefully examined, it will be observed that the sub-
stance and clear intent of the Gentlemen's Agreement are
embodied in the statute; that is to say, (1) an alien in-
eligible for citizenship previously lawfully admitted to the
United States, returning from a temporary visit abroad may
be admitted; (2) an immigrant ineligible for citizenship
who continuously, for at least two years immediately pre-
ceding the time of his application for admission to the
United States, has been and is seeking to enter the United
States solely for the purpose of carrying on the vocation of
minister of any religious denomination, or professor of a
college, academy, seminary or university, and his wife and
New York Times, June 17, 1924.
*"For the effect of the ineligible to citizenship provision upon existing
treaties, laws and customs, see article by A. W. Parker, "The Ineligible to
Citizenship Provisions of the Act of 1924," American Journal oj Inter-
national Law, Vol. XIX (1925), p. 30//.
" HLnte.sman's Year Book for 1924, P- 1054, gives the Japanese population
in 1922, as 59,460,252.
JAPANESE IMMIGRATION
341
his unmarried children under 18 years of age if accompany-
ing or following to join him, may be admitted; or (3), an
immigrant ineligible for citizenship who is a bona fide
student at least 15 years of age and seeks to enter the
United States solely for the purpose of study at an ac-
credited school, college, academy, seminary or university,
particularly designated by him and approved by the Secre-
tary of Labor, may be admitted. These provisions are the
exemptions provided for in sub-sections (b), (d) and (e),
of Section 4. Finally, more important than these classes of
persons are those groups defined in Section 3 of the Act,
which entitles Japanese or any of the peoples to whom the
provisions of the section apply, to admission at our ports.^^
A careful consideration of the provisions described in the
preceding paragraph makes it clear that the essential dif-
ference between the situation as it existed prior to the
passage of the Immigration Act of 1924, and what may be
expected to eventuate now that the law has gone into effect,
lies in the fact that the United States Government will now
determine the qualifications of any individual ineligible for
citizenship seeking admission into the United States; that
is to say, the responsibility for a determination of the
ehgibility and good faith of such persons to enter regardless
of the country of their origin, will be determined by the
American Consul at the point of departure for our shores,
and by the Immigration Inspectors at the ports of entry
of the United States. To what extent the release of control
by the Japanese Government over passports of persons
seeking to enter contiguous territory to the United States,
may affect surreptitious entries from Mexico and Canada,
is yet impossible to determine.
As was to be expected Japanese opinion was bitter
against the law and for a while the situation might be called
^'acute.'^
According to the Japan Chronicle, a leading EngHsh
newspaper in Japan, no diplomatic event for many years
**See Chapter VII for a list of such classes who may enter the United
States.
342 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
has aroused so much comment and excitement in
Japan as the passage of the exclusion law in the United
States.
On April 20, 1924, fifteen Tokyo newspapers published a
joint declaration calling the bill ''inequitable and unjust."
The passage of the bill, in their opinion, "would cause a
grave set-back to all glorious enterprises" which Japan and
the United States had undertaken, particularly at the
Washington Conference.
The Osaka Asahi called the action of Congress a ''glaring
breach of international etiquette" and a "deliberate insult."
The jingoist Yorodzu said that America "has pounced upon
us with drawn sword. . . . We must defend our honor and
interest." It advised American missionaries to return home
immediately. The Yomiuri said, "Must we meekly submit
to this arrogant and tyrannical attitude?" The Tokyo
Nichi Nichi said, "The honor of Japan has been mercilessly
destroyed." Jiji called the anti- Japanese agitation a "grave
insult to Japan." The Osaka Mainichi said that the ""na-
tional honor of Japan" had been seriously hurt. The Tokyo
Asahi called the exclusion law "harsh, cruel and unjust."
Hochi said this "persecution" of the white races would lead
to a union of Asiatic peoples. The chauvinistic magazine,
Japan and the Japanese, said that the "selfish and arrogant"
exclusion of colored people from the United States would
engender great antipathy between the white and colored
races. The Oriental Economist asked that the Japanese
Government champion the cause of all Asiatics as regards
America. Dr. Uesugi, a professor in Tokyo Imperial Uni-
versity, noted for his chauvinistic writings, advocated the
convocation of a Conference of Colored Races in Tokyo,
to discuss means of resisting the treatment by America.
Dr. Hayashi, a professor at Keio University, said that
America's policy might necessitate the Formation of a
League of Yellow Peoples.
While the major portion of the criticism of the exclusion
law dealt with its discriminatory features, a number of the
more radical journals also expressed resentment that the
JAPANESE IMMIGRATION
343
United States should exclude Japanese immigrants from the
United States, regardless of the means employed.
In addition to government representatives, such promi-
nent Japanese as Viscount Shibusawa, Baron Sakatani, and
Viscount Goto protested against the act because of its ^'dis-
criminatory" features. Cables protesting against the law
were sent to the United States by the American Merchants'
Association, the National Christian Council of Japan, the
Japan League of Nations Association, the National Cham-
ber of Commerce, the Imperial Education Association and
the Association of American University Clubs in Japan.
Anti- American demonstrations took place in some cities,
one of which was occasioned by the suicide of a Japanese
on account of the exclusion law. Boycotts of American
merchants and moving picture films were started, but were
soon dropped because they injured Japanese as much as
American interests.
On July 1, the date the exclusion law went into effect,
both houses of the Japanese Diet passed resolutions protest-
ing against the discriminatory act. And societies placarded
Tokyo with signs, saying, ''Hate Everything American,
and urging Japanese never to enter a "Church supported
or guided by Americans or United States missionaries."
Mass prayer meetings were also held at all the national
Shinto shrines throughout the country.
In the United States criticism from many quarters was
directed against the method employed by Congress to
achieve an end which it was contended was already being
achieved by the Gentlemen's Agreement, or could have been
achieved by other diplomatic means. The New York Times
said that there was "no justification for the Senate's shock-
ing disregard of the feelings of the Japanese. The proper
way to solve the problem was through diplomatic channels.
In wilfully ignoring this the Senate inflamed Japanese
hatred of the United States and totally misrepresented the
true attitude of the people of this country."
The New York Herald Tribune called the action of Con-
^ Editorial, May 27, 1924.
344 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
gress "an unnecessary affront to Japan." The New York
World said, 'This dehberate sabotage of our delicate inter-
national relations had no other purpose than that of
cadging for the votes of hot-heads upon the Pacific
Coast." The Washington Post said, 'There was no occa-
sion for the disagreeable happening, no difference in prin-
ciple requiring it, and no exigency excusing it." ^- The
Christian Science Monitor said, 'Tt is certain that the
method is highly offensive to a Nation with whom the
United States should take especial pains to remain on
terms of peace. ... It was therefore as unwise as it was
discourteous for the United States Congress to brand this
intelligent and progressive Japanese people with a stigma
only applicable to the most uncivilized and barbarous of
Asiatic tribes." According to one survey, forty out of
forty-four newspapers, east of Chicago, criticized the pass-
age of this law by Congress.^^
In the West the Los Angeles Express said that ''Secretary
Hughes is wholly right in his protest against exclusion."
But the San Francisco Chronicle said, "It is no more dis-
respectful to the Japanese than to the Chinese to exclude
them by name."
The News Bulletin of the Foreign Policy Association de-
clared, "persistent agitation, inadvertently abetted by dip-
lomatic ineptitude and culminating in Senatorial hysteria,
threatens needlessly to wreck the most important achieve-
ment of the Washington Conference. . . ."
On the other hand, the Boston Transcript declared,
"Congress was exactly and everlastingly right." The
Hearst papers also took this point of view.
A large number of organizations passed resolutions
criticizing the passage of the exclusion law. At its annual
meeting in December, 1923, the Federal Council of
Churches of Christ in America, deplored as "unpatriotic
^Ed., May 27, 1924. ''Ibid.
«'Ed, June 1, 1924. ^Ed., May 21, 1924.
"*Wile, F. W., Christian Science Monitor, April 26, 1924.
"''Cf. "Exclusion or Quota for Japanese," Literary Digest, March 1, 1924.
April 25, 1924. ^ Ed., June 19, 1924.
JAPANESE IMMIGRATION
345
and unchristian'' the discriminatory treatment of aliens,
and advocated a non-discriminatory naturalization test.^^
The Administrative Committee of the Council also pro-
tested against excluding ''aliens ineligible to citizenship,"
on the ground that it is ''unnecessarily and inevitably
offensive." Similar resolutions criticizing the method used
by Congress were passed by the Massachusetts Federation
of Churches, the American Board of Commissioners for
Foreign Missions, the National Council of the Protestant
Episcopal Church, the Conference of the Methodist Epis-
copal Church, meeting at Springfield, Mass., the Northern
Baptist Convention, the Committee representing the For-
eign Missionary Boards of the United States, the General
Synod of the Reformed Church in America, the Woman's
American Baptist Foreign Missionary Society, the Woman's
Union Missionary Society of America, the Methodist
Episcopal Church South, the National Board of the Y. W.
C. A., the American members of the Executive Committee
of the World Sunday School Association, the World Peace
Foundation, the National Chamber of Commerce at its
annual meeting at Cleveland, and the National Committee
on American-Japanese Relations.
A group of prominent New York business and profes-
sional men sent a cablegram to the American-Japanese So-
ciety in Tokyo "deeply" deploring the unjustifiable things
said during the exclusion debate in regard to Japan. The
message was signed among others, by Henry W. Taft,
George W. Wickersham, Thomas W. Lamont, Darwin P.
Kingsley, and J. B. Millet.^^
Another cablegram was signed by 30 heads or Presidents
Emeritus of leading American universities and colleges,
regretting "the inconsiderate action of the American Con-
gress, which does not represent the sentiments of the
American people toward Japan." The author of the mes-
sage was Charles W. Eliot, President Emeritus of Harvard,
and among those who disapproved the action of Congress
Hearings on S. 2576, cited, p. 55.
""'New York Times, July 2, 1924.
346 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
were David Starr Jordan, President Emeritus of Stanford
University, and W. W. Campbell, President of the Univer-
sity of California.
On the other hand, the California American Legion,
the State Federation of Labor, the Native Sons of the
Golden West, and the State Grange, protested against
the attempt of Ambassador Hanihara ''to influence the
electorate of this country on a purely domestic question —
Immigration."
Two editorials in The New York Times, for August 15
and 19, 1924, concerning remarks of Mr. Yusuke Tsurumi
at the Institute of Politics throw considerable light on
the subject.
''Better Understanding in Japan.
"Even those who deplore the method of Congress in sub-
stituting the Japanese Exclusion act for the Gentlemen's
Agreement will question the statement of Japan's repre-
sentative, Mr. Tsurumi, at the Institute of Politics, that
the new act has had and will continue to have 'grave conse-
quences' not only in Japan but throughout the world.
Temporarily, to be sure, it caused a storm of anti-American
feeling in Japan. But even the efforts of a few persons to
use this to foster a boycott on American goods are now
abandoned, and there are indications that the Japanese
are beginning to realize that no insult was meant by the
exclusion law. Indeed, it is perceived that the American
Government has relieved the Japanese Government of the
unpleasant task of restricting the exodus of Japanese labor-
ers to America.
"Had the law not been passed, and had the Japanese
population on the coast continued to increase, there is no
doubt that feeling would have become more bitter. As for
New York Times, July 6, 1924. Also see article by C. G. Fenwick
in American Journal of International Law, Vol. 18 (1924), p. 523, in
which he stated: *'If the Japanese protest afjainst the exclusion provisions
of the Immigration Act is weak on the side of law, it is strong on the
side of common international courtesy and decent neighborly conduct."
L.tcrary Digest, cited.
JAPANESE IMMIGRATION
347
the rest of the country, it is only necessary to recall the
way in which the first Japanese loan was placed, and the
rapidity with which the second loan has been taken, to
show that there is absolute confidence in Japan. The finan-
cial aid extended after the terrible earthqual^e is ample
proof of the friendship which the American people have
always felt toward Japan.
'Tf by 'grave consequences' Mr. Tsurumi means merely
a reorientation of the political situation in the Far East,
he is undoubtedly right. This would have come, however,
regardless of the action of the American Congress. It has
long been understood by Japanese leaders that the Ameri-
can Continent could not and would not be a suitable field
for Japanese colonization. President Roosevelt made this
quite clear during the negotiations leading up to the ^Gen-
tlemen's Agreement' in 1907. Nor have his successors done
anything to imply a change in this attitude.
'Those in Japan interested in establishing Japanese colo-
nies abroad will now have to return with renewed interest
to the Asiatic mainland, and those seeking for Japan the
commercial supremacy of the Far East will be able to
oppose American rivalry with greater likelihood of popular
support at home.
"Of 'grave consequences' in the more serious meaning of
the words there can be little real danger. Certainly Japan
has nothing to fear from the United States. If Mr. Tsurumi
wishes to do his part in conciliation, he has only to talk
to his own people with the same commendable frankness
which he has used at Williamstown, and explain to them
that just as the Japanese would not welcome large and
growing colonies of Americans in their midst, so the Amer-
icans of the Pacific Coast fear the growth of large Japanese
settlements in California and elsewhere. There is no ques-
tion of racial 'inferiority.' Nor is there any intended insult
to Japan. Mr. Tsurumi can bear witness to the deep-seated
admiration and friendship of the American people for the
people of Japan. Such a sentiment is not provocative of
'grave consequences'."
348 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
^'Through Japanese Eyes.
"In stressing again that Japan was disturbed by the
manner rather than by the fact of the exclusion of her
people from the United States, Mr. Yusuke Tsurumi has
helped to clear up a point but little understood in this
country. The Japanese people, he explained in his closing
lecture at the Institute of Politics, had become reconciled
to the principle of exclusion at the time of the Gentlemen's
Agreement. What they resented was the abrogation of that
agreement and the substitution for it of legislation which
implied that Japan had not kept the faith. This to them
was a blow at their national honor.
"It was the method rather than the substance which
American friends of Japan also deplored. They questioned
the necessity of abrogating the Gentlemen's Agreement and
denounced such action as discourteous and unpolitic. The
activities of the Senate, in particular, seemed to be based
on a desire to avenge a fancied threat rather than to deal
tactfully with a delicate situation. Not even the unwise
use by the Japanese Ambassador of the phrase 'grave con-
sequences' warranted the brusque and unmannerly action
of the Senate.
"Desirable as it is for the American people to understand
the Japanese point of view, it is essential for the Japanese
to understand the American point of view. Rightly or
wrongly, immigration was the question — in fact, the sole
question — in American eyes. Disregarding the criticism
of those fanatics who claimed that Japan had not lived up
to her part of the Gentlemen's Agreement, the underlying
motive of the overwhelming majority of the members of
Congress who supported the Immigration Restriction bill
was to handle the entire problem as a domestic issue, and,
in the CAse of the Asiatics, to embody in permanent form
the restrictions which in the past had been contained in
treaties and agreements. Rightly or wrongly, the Ameri-
can people were opposed to any further immigration of
non-assimilable races. A few of the more farseeing felt
JAPANESE IMMIGRATION
349
that by settling the matter now once and for all it would
cease to be a source of friction, and the unassimilable aliens
would be less exposed to local jealousies and animosities.
In so far as the Japanese in particular were concerned, these
observers felt that the history of Chinese exclusion pointed
the way. So long as the Chinese continued to increase in
numbers race prejudice grew. Since they have declined
race prejudice has declined. The bitterest opposition to the
Japanese in California is in those regions where they are
numerically the strongest. It is a safe prediction that when
their numbers fall resentment against them wall gradually
disappear.
'Tt is highly regrettable that the passage of the exclusion
bill should have led many Japanese to think, in the words
of Mr. Tsurumi, 'that America has no confidence in the
Japanese Government, in its pledges and its integrity, and
does not care a fig for its friendship and cooperation.' This
is the reverse of the truth. If Mr. Tsurumi can make this
as clear to his own people as he has made clear to us the
Japanese point of view, he will have rendered a further
service to Japanese-American friendship."
The Japanese Government has always protested against
any legislation in the United States that tended to be or to
appear to be discriminatory. It protested vigorously
against the San Francisco school ordinance of 1906 and the
California land law of 1913. In a note of June 4, 1913, the
Japanese Ambassador declared that in the opinion of the
Japanese Government:
"The measure is unfair and intentionally racially dis-
criminatory, and, looking at the terms of the treaty between
our two countries, they are equally well convinced that the
act in question is contrary to the letter and spirit of that
compact and they moreover believe that the enactment
is at variance with the accepted principles of just and
equal treatment upon which good relations between
^•"See WiUiard, White Australian Policij, for Japan's protests to Aus-
tralia against the latter's restrictions against Oriental immigration.
350 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
friendly nations must, in the final analysis, so largely
depend."
He said further:
'The provisions of the law, under which it is held that
Japanese people are not eligible to American citizenship,
are mortifying to the Government and people of Japan,
since the racial distinction inferable from those provisions
is hurtful to their just national susceptibility. The ques-
tion of naturalization, however, is a political problem of
national and not international concern. So long, therefore,
as the distinction referred to was employed in relation to
rights of purely political nature the Imperial Government
had no occasion to approach the Government of the United
States on the subject. But when that distinction is made
use of, as in the present case, for the purpose of depriving
Japanese subjects of rights and privileges of a civil nature,
which are freely granted in the United States to other
aliens, it becomes the duty of the Imperial Government, in
the interests of the relations of cordial friendship and good
understanding between the two countries, to express frankly
their conviction that the racial distinction, which at best
is inaccurate and misleading, does not afford a valid basis
for the discrimination on the subject of land tenure."
As far as Japanese residents in the United States were
concerned,
''The Imperial Government claim for them fair and equal
treatment, and are unable either to acquiesce in the unjust
and obnoxious discrimination complained of, or to regard
the question as closed so long as the existing state of things
is permitted to continue."
Ever since about 1911, general immigration bills have
contained a clause barring immigrants ''ineligible to citizen-
ship" unless already excluded by treaty or agreement. But
at Japan's protest against the mere use of these words, they
were dropped. Such a phrase was originally inserted in
the immigration bill of 1917, but was again omitted at
U. S. Forcifjn Relations, 1913, p. 633.
'"/6i£f., p. 653; cf. also ibid., 1914, p. 434.
JAPANESE IMMIGRATION 351
Japan's protest, the ^'barred zone" clause, which did not
apply to China or Japan, being used instead.
On the other hand, prominent Americans have been
just as opposed as the Japanese to any discriminatory
legislation.
As far as treatment of Japanese in the United States is
concerned, President Roosevelt protested against the pas-
sage of an exclusion law, against the San Francisco school
ordinance, and against anti-Japanese measures introduced
into the California legislature in lOOT.i^^ In the 1909 Cah-
fornia legislature about 17 anti- Japanese measures were
introduced but dropped at the intervention of President
Roosevelt.
In his Autobiography President Roosevelt declared that
exclusion was ^'fundamentally a sound and proper attitude,
an attitude which must be insisted upon, and yet which
can be insisted upon in such a manner and with such
courtesy and such sense of mutual fairness and reciprocal
obligation and respect as not to give any just cause cf
offense to Asiatic peoples."
In a letter to Hon. William Kent of February 4, 1909,
Roosevelt expressed himself in favor of a reciprocal ar-
rangement between Japan and the United States which
would keep American laborers out of Japan and Japanese
laborers out of the United States.
The assurances of President Taft that the treaty of 1911
would continue exclusion prevented the California legis-
lature from passing an anti- Japanese land law in 1911. In
1913 President Wilson protested against the proposed land
law, declaring "Invidious discrimination will inevitably
draw in question the treaty obligations of the government
of the United States. I register my very earnest and re-
spectful protest against discrimination in this case." He
Buell, R. L., The Development of the Anti-Japanese Agitation in the
United States.
Roosevelt, Theodore, An Autobiography (1913), p. 416.
Ibid., p. 411.
Printed in "Japanese Immigration and Colonization," brief prepared
by V. S. McClatchy (1921), S. Doc. 55, 67th Cong., 1st Sess., p. 62.
352 IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
sent Secretary of State Bryan to Sacramento to confer with ,|
the legislature, but without the desired result. In 1916 the I
American State Department brought its influence to bear :i
against the proposed bill excluding aliens ineligible to cit- ;
izenship. In April, 1919, Secretary of State Lansing wired
from the Paris Peace Conference that ''it would be par- =
ticularly unfortunate" to have anti-Japanese legislation j
passed by the California legislature at that time. Just |
before the adoption of the 1920 land law in California,
acting Secretary of State Davis said, ''No outcome of the
California movement will be acceptable to the country at
large that does not accord with existing and applicable
provisions of law and, what is equally important, with the '
national instinct of justice." Finally, on February 8, 1924,
Secretary of State Hughes protested against the enactment
of a discriminatory exclusion measure.
Thus, while Congress was within its rights when it pro-
vided for exclusion of all persons ineligible to citizenship,
some persons felt and still feel that we accomplished our
end in a rather undiplomatic way. No treaty was violated,
since the Gentlemen's Agreement was never ratified by the
Senate of the United States. The exclusion clause can •
hardly be called "discrimination" since it is a general propo- ]
sition applying not only to all Asiatic peoples but to
all others ineligible for citizenship for other than racial
reasons. It is easy to understand, however, that past
favors to the jealous pride of the awakened Japanese people
could make them believe that such action as taken by
Congress was discriminatory. Yet it must be recognized I
by all thoughtful persons that restriction, even absolute
exclusion, does not signify racial hatred. Restriction does
not mark a nation as the inferior of any or all otJiers.
Many individuals of any race may be superior by every
just standard of measurement to many individuals of the
white race. Yet true assimilation requires racial compati-
*^See section 28, sub-section (c) for definition of term "ineligible for I
citizenship." \
JAPANESE IMMIGRATION 353
I bility, and any irreconcilable resistance to amalgamation
K and social equality cannot be ignored.
I Kipling recognized this when he wrote
'East is East, and West is West,
And never the twain shall meet — "
For America, the Japanese are a non-assimilable people,
as are all Asiatics, and little could be gained by the con-
' tinuance of a policy contrary to American interests and
• which removed from our control a universally recognized
[ domestic problem. This was recognized by both nations.
' Japan, as well as the United States, knew that sooner or
later exclusion was coming, for it was inevitable. In enter-
ing upon the Gentlemen's Agreement Japan recognized the
reasonableness of the American contention, that subjects
of that Empire be excluded both as a matter of right, and
as an economic necessity,^^^ in addition to the obvious non-
assimilation argument. Certainly we have dealt with Japan
in a more honorable manner than with China, although this
cannot be given as an excuse for our recent action toward
the former.
The whole controversy with Japan has been over the
method of bringing about effective exclusion of Japanese
laborers, who, according to Jenks and Lauck, are not as
desirable as the Chinese laborers. Now that exclusion
has been accomplished by legislative action rather than by
treaty and diplomatic negotiations, it would seem wise to
keep the recent controversy ''closed", despite the fact that
the Japanese ambassador in March, 1925, expressed the
hope that this government would reconsider its exclusion
policy. Recent events have tended to dispel virtually all
feelings of ill-will in both nations.^^^ From the White
House and our State Department have come statements
that our relations with Japan are serene, friendly and
"''On this subject see Matheson, R. O., "The Myth of Japanese Effi-
ciency," with Reply by Kavvakami, K. K., in Current History, May, 1927.
Jenks and Lauck, The Immigration Problem, p. 252.
"^See Literary Digest, January 3, 1925, "Squelching a Japanese War-
Scare."
354
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION
untroubled. From the Japanese Government have come
official assurances of friendship. Extraordinary utiliza-
tion was made of the appointment of the new Japanese
Ambassador, Tsuneo Matsudaira, to emphasize the affec-
tionate regard in which the two countries hold each other.
Secretary Hughes broke a diplomatic precedent by issuing
a formal statement declaring that Japan had paid this
country a signal honor by sending such a man as her
envoy and that ''we can look forward now to the most
cordial relations with Japan." From the White House has
come word that President Coolidge and his Administration
look upon the present rulers of Japan ''as candid exponents
of international friendship." Japan, says the Detroit Free
Press, "surely can no longer be in doubt regarding the
friendly desire and intent of the people of the United
States." It is to be hoped that the friendship between these
two great nations will grow more cordial in the near future
and ripen into a deep and mutual understanding on all
problems that touch their respective interests.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Note. A bibliography on Immigration might be extended almost
indefinitely. Especially is this true of those references included under
"primary sources" and under magazine articles, pamphlets, etc. Only
the most important articles that have appeared in recent years are
hsted here. Magazine articles on the subject are legion. Reference
to any standard bibliography will give a list of articles and pamphlets
on the subject prior to 1921, hundreds of which have been read in the
preparation of this study. Only the recent ''hearings" are listed here.
My guide in the preparation of this bibliography has been to list those
references, primary and secondary, which have influenced legislation
and public opinion on the subject of immigration, especially within
recent years.
Primary Sources
Abbott, Edith: Historical Aspects of the Immigration Problem, 1926.
Abbott, Edith: Immigration, Select Documents and Case Records,
1924.
Admission of Mentally Defective Children, Hearings before the House
Committee on Immigration and Naturalization, 67th Congress, 4th
Session on H. R. 12470 and H. R. 12479, Dec. 5, 1922 and Jan.
16, 1923, Serial 4-C.
Admission of Near East Refugees, Hearings before the House Commit-
tee on Immigration and Naturalization, 67th Congress, 4th session,
on H. R. 13269, Dec. 15-19, 1922, Serial 1-C, and Serial 2-C on
Dec. 5, 1922.
Alien Seamen — Insane Aliens — Statements on Various Immigration
Problems, Hearings before the House Committee on Immigration
and Naturalization, 67th Congress, 4th Session on H. R. 14273,
Jan. 30 and Feb. 6, 1923, Serial 6-C.
Amendment to Immigration Law, Hearing before the Senate Committee
on Immigration, 67th Congress, 4th session on S. 4222, Jan. 24,
1923.
Analysis of America's Melting Pot, Hearings before the House Commit-
tee on Immigration and Naturalization, 68th Congress, 3rd ses-
sion, Nov. 21, 1922, Serial 7-C, Statement of H. H. Laughlin.
Annals of Congress, Vol. II.
Archives of Maryland.
Armstrong, Edward: Correspondence between William Penn and
James Logan and Others.
Bennett, W. S., Effects of Immigration on Municipal Politics. Report
of National Conference for Good City Government.
355
356
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bureau of Immigration, Immigration Laws and Rules, pamphlets, re-
ports, etc.
Bureau of Naturalization, Naturalization Laws and Regulations, yjamph-
lets, reports, Federal Citizenship Text-book, Teacher's Manual,
Citizenship Instruction, etc.
Calif omia and the Oriental, by State Board of Control of California.
California Immigration and Housing Commission, bulletins, reports, etc.
California Statutes.
^Colonial Charters, 1639 and '92.
"^Commissioner-General of Immigration, Annual Reports (very valuable).
Commissioner of Naturalization, Annual Reports.
Congressional Debates of 1835-6, Vol. XII.
Congressional Digest, July- Aug., 1923.
Congressional Globe of 1837-8, 1844-5.
Congressional Record. An extensive research has been made in the
Record for a number of years.
Dallas', Edition of Laws of Pennsylvania.
Decisions of Supreme Court of the United States and of other lesser
courts.
Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Renorts.
Department of Labor, Annual Reports of the Secretary of Labor, Im-
migration Laws and Rules, pamphlets, etc. (very important).
Department of the Interior, Bureau of Education, Bulletins and Re-
ports on Immigration and Americanization.
Deportation of Aliens, House Report No. 991, April 26, 1926, 69th
Congress, 1st session.
Deportation of Aliens, House Report No. 1348, June 2, 1926, 69th Con-
gress, 1st Session.
Deportation of Alien Criminals, Gunmen, Narcotic Dealers, Defectives,
etc. Hearings before the House Committee on Immigration and
Naturalization, March 25, 26, April 13, 1926. Hearings No. 69.1.11,
69th Congress, 1st session.
Deportation of Alien Seamen. Hearings before the House Committee
on Immigration and Naturalization, 69th Congress, 1st session,
Mav 14, 1926. Hearing No. 69.1.15. Also on the same subject,
Hearing No. 69.1.5, Jan. 21 and 22, 1926.
Elliott's Debates.
Emigration and Immigration — Legislation and Treaties — International
Labor Office, Geneva, 1922.
Europe as an Emigrant Exporting Continent and the United States
as an Immigrant-Receiving Nation. Hearings before the House
Committee on Immigration and Naturalization, 68th Congress, 1st
session, March 8, 1924, Serial 5 A. It contains important studies
and official reports on migration problems down to Nov. 19, 1924.
Executive Document No. 70, 25th Congress, 2nd session.
Executive (House) Document 54, 29th Congress, 2nd session.
Federalist, The.
Hearings of the House Committee on Immigration and Naturalization.
Hearings of the Senate Committee on Immigration.
Hening: Statutes,
BIBLIOGRAPHY
357
House Report No. 1040, 25th Congress, 2nd session.
House Report No. 54, 29th Congress, 2nd session.
House Doc. No. 359, 34th Congress, 1st session.
House Report No. 3792, 50th Congress, 2nd session.
House Doc. No. 1527, 63d Congress, 3d session.
House Report No. 1621, 67th Congress, 4th session, February 15, 1923.
House Report No. 350, 68th Congress, 1st session.
Immigration Commission, Report of, 1911. (42 vols.)
Immigration for Fiscal Year ended June 30, 1922. Hearings before the
House Committee on Immigration and Naturalization, 67th Con-
gress, 2nd session, Serial 6-B, August 22, 1922.
Immigration and Labor. Hearings before the House Committee on
Immigration and Naturalization, 67th Congress, 4th session on
H. R. 7826 and H. R. 11730, Jan. 3-24, 1923, Serial 5-6.
Immigration of Wives and Children of Declarants. Hearings of House
Committee on Immigration and Naturalization, 69th Congress,
1st session, May 24, June 17, June 24 and July 2, 1926. Hearing
No. 69.1.16.
Immigration Restriction League, Reports, etc., of.
Japanese Immigration Legislation. Hearings before the Senate Com-
mittee on Immigration, 68th Congress, 1st session on S. 2576, March-
11-15, 1924.
Jefferson's Notes on Virginia.
Jefferson's Writings.
Journal of Congress for 1788.
Lowell, Public Opinion and Popular Government.
Madison's State Papers.
Malloy: Treaties and Conventions of the United States,
Maryland State Laws, 1833.
Massachusetts Commission on Immigration, Report on the Problem of
Immigration in Massachusetts, 1914.
Massachusetts Laws, 1820.
Medical Problems of Immigration — Papers presented at the 37th An-
nual Meeting of American Academy of Medicine, June 1, 1912.
Moore: Digest of International Law, Vol. IV.
National Origins Provision. Hearings before the House Committee on
Inamigration and Naturalization, 69th Congress, 2nd session, Jan.
18, 19, and 26, 1927. Hearing No. 69.2.1.
New Jersey Archives.
New Jersey, Commission of Immigration, Report, 1914.
New York (State), Bureau of Industries and Immigration, Annual Re-
port, 1911.
New York Laws, 1824.
Niles' Register.
North Carolina Colonial Documents.
Pennsylvania Colonial Records.
Preferences Within Quotas. Hearings before the House Committee on
Immigration and Naturalization, 69th Congress, 1st session, April
29, 1926. Hearing No. 69.1.13.
Report of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on "Foreign Crim-
358
BIBLIOGRAPHY
inals and Paupers", August 16, 1856, 34th Congress, 1st session,
House Document No. 359.
Report of the Committee on Selective Immigration of the Eugenics
Committee of the United States of America, 1924.
Report of U. S. Industrial Commission, XV, 1901.
Restriction of Immigration. Hearings before the House Committee on
Immigration and Naturalization, 6Sth Congress, 1st session, on
H. R. 5, H. R. 101, and H. R. 561, December 26, 1923 to January
19, 1924. Serial 1-A.
Restriction of Immigration, Hearings before the House Committee,
Jan. 14,-Feb. 12, 1924, Serial 2-A.
Richardson: Messages and Papers of the Presidents.
Roosevelt, T.: Aji Autobiography.
Selective Immigration Legislation. Hearings before the Senate Com-
mittee on Immigration, 68th Congress, 1st session, on S. 2365 and
S. 2576, Feb. 13-April 8, 1924.
Senate Document No. 173, 28th Congress, 2nd session.
Senate Document No. 161, 29th Congress, 2nd session.
Senate Report No. 386, 33d Congress, 1st session.
Senate Document No. 185, 54th Congress, 2nd session.
Senate Document No. 1087, 62nd Congress, 3d session.
Senate Report No. 17, 67th Congress, 1st session, April 28, 1921.
Statutes of the United States.
Transactions of the Commonwealth Club of California, pamphlets, etc.,
contain much valuable original material.
Tucker's Edition, Blackstone's Commentaries.
United States Bureau of the Census ; Census Reports.
United States Bureaus of Immigration and Naturalization: Annual Re-
ports and other pamphlets.
United States Bureau of Statistics: Pamphlets, reports, etc.
United States Congress: Documents, Record, Reports, etc.
United States Laws, Vol. I, Acts of 1790 and '95.
United States Library of Congress: List of References on American
Immigration, etc.
Winthrop: Life and Letters of Gov. Winthrop.
Works of Benjamin Franklin: ed. by John Bigelow.
Secondary References
Books
Addams, Jane: Newer Ideals of Peace, 1907.
Addams, Jane: Twenty Years at Hull-House, 1910.
Americanization Studies (11 Vols.), A. T. Burns, Director.
Annals, The, Jan., 1921.
Antin, Mary: The Promised Land, 1912.
Antin, Mary: They Who Knock at Our Gates, 1914.
Balch, Emily G.: Our Slavic Fellow-Citizens, 1910.
Bernard, L. L.: Introduction to Social Psychology, 1926.
Bernheimer, C. S.: The Russian Jew in the United States. 1905.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BiTTiNGER, Lucy F.: The Germans in Colonial Times, 190L
Blakeslee, G. J. ed.: Japan and Japanese American Relations, 1912.
Boas, Franz: Changes in Bodily Form of Descendants of Immigrants,
1912.
Boas, Franz: The Mind of Primitive Man. 1911.
BoGARDus, E. S.: Fundamentals of Social Psychology, 1924.
Brandenburg, B.: Imported Americans, 1904.
Bromwell, W. J.: History of Immigration into the United States,
1856.
Burgess, Thomas: Greeks in America, 1913.
AMPBELL, P. C: Chinese Coolie Emigration, 1922.
APEK, T.: The Czechs (Bohemians) in America, 1920.
Carlton, F. T.: Immigration, in History and Problems of Organized
Labor, 1911.
Chafee: Freedom of Speech, 1920.
Chickering, Jesse: Immigration into the United States, 1848.
Clark, Francis E.: Old Homes of New Americans, 1913.
Clark University Addresses: Japan and Japanese American Rela-
tions, 1912.
Commons, John R.: Races and Immigrants in America, 1908.
Coolidge, Mary R.: Chinese Immigration!, 1908.
CoRwiN, The President's Control of Foreign Relations, 1917.
Davis, J.: The Russian Immigrant, 1922.
Davis, J. J.: Selected Immigration, 1925.
Davis, P.: Immigration and Americanization, 1920.
Dewees, F. p.: The Molly Maguires, 1877.
Edwards, Richard H.: Immigration, 1909.
Ellwood, G. a.: Sociology and Modern Social Problems, 1910.
Ely, R. T.: Outlines of Economics.
Fairchild, H. p.: Greek Immigration into the United States, 1911.
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LIST OF REFERENCES ON THE "NATIONAL ORIGINS" PROVISION IN THE
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37. U. S. Bureau of Immigration. Coiigress. Debate on the Johnson
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Record, 68th Cong., 1st sess., vol. 65, on the following pages:
H. R. 7995. — To limit the immigration of aliens into the United
States. Introduced by Mr. Johnson and referred to the Committee
on Immigration and Naturalization, p. 4395. Reported with
amendments (H. Rept. 350), p. 4912; minority views submitted
(H. Rept. 350, pt. 2), p. 5117; debated, 3424, 5577, 5588, 5640-
5707, 5833-5907, 5908-5936, 6110-6150, 6153-6174, 6225-6274, 6476,
8639. — Amended and passed House, 6258. — Amended and passed
Senate (S. 2576), 6644-6649.— Conference report submitted in House
(H. Rept. 688), 8218.— Debated, 8218-8249, 8250, 8279, 8639.— Re-
committed to comm. of conference, 8249. — Conference report (H.
Rept. 716), 8627.— Debated, 8626-8652, 8655.— Agreed to, 8652.—
Conf. report. Senate. 8568, 8575.— Agreed to, 8589.— Examined and
signed, 8511, 8738. 8958.— Approved, 10068.
Senate, 2576. The bill was introduced into the Senate, p. 2829;
reported, 5055; debated, p. 5393, 5409, 5459-5477, 5553, 5565, 5737,
5802, 5823, 5941, 6302, 6354, 6366, 6373, 6457, 6533, 6608-6644.
Many of the debates include discussions of the national origins
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38. U. S. Bureau of Immigration. House. Committee on immigration
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Hou.se of Representatives, Sixty-eighth Congress, first session, on
H. R. 5, H. R. 101, H. R. 561, H. R. 6540. Washington, Govern-
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
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370
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Outlook, "Stocking America with People," May 23, 1923.
Outlook, "Choose Citizens, Not Let Them in," Dec. 12, 1923.
Parker, A. W.: "The Quota Provisions of the Immigration Act of
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737-754.
Parker, A. W.: "The Ineligible to Citizenship Provision of the Act
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p. 30 ff.
Pinter, R., and Keller, R.: "Intelligence Tests of Foreign Children,"
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Review of Reviews, "Italian Immigration," July, 1924.
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Roberts, K. L.: "Slow Poison," Saturday Evening Post, Feb. 2, 1924.
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INDEX
Adams, John, 24
Administration, powers of officials,
88, 92, 96, 99, 100, 101, 102, 107-
108, 109, 112, 115, 118, 120,
134, 137, 150, 300, 302-303
Alien and Sedition Laws, 32
Alien contract labor law, 90-96, 105,
132-133
Alien, definition of, 125
Anarchists, 102, 104, 108, 126, 138-
140, 219-220
Antin, Mary, note on, 26
Archer, W. S, 30
Army tests, 229-236; criticisms of,
236-239
Assimilation, 14, 20, 25, 29, 31, 34,
45, 119, 122, 211, 213, 217, 220,
222, 223-224, 228-229, 235-236, 237,
248, 251-252, 253, 269-270, 290-291,
317, 318-319, 320, 352-353
Austro-Hungarian immigration, 212-
213
Bagley, W., 236
Balance sheet, 52-54
Barred zone, 38-39, 128-130, 306-307
Bayard, J. A., 30
Bernard, L. L., 238
Boas, F., 227, 239
Bonds for immigrants, 16, 35, 36,
74, 75, 79, 100, 113
Brigham, C. C, 236
Buchanan, James, 30, 34
Burden of proof, 93, 199, 300
Burlingame treaty, 288-289, 292
Burnett, Representative, 123, 124
Catholics, colonial opposition to, 17;
opposition of the Nativistic party
to, 48
Causes of English emigration to
American colonies, 3-4
Causes of modern immigration, 117
Causes of opposition, colonial, 19;
after 1830, 44-46, 52-56
Chambers, J. S., 317
Characteristics of southern colo-
nists, 4; of northern colonists, 4
Chew Heong v. U. S, 296
Chinese, early opposition to, 286-
288; assimilation of, 290; con-
gressional investigation concern-
ing, 290-292; Act of March 3,
1875, 292 ; treaty of 1880, 292-294 ;
exclusion of, 294-296; treaty of
1888, 296-298; act of 1888, 298-
299; exclusion cases, 299, 300;
Act of 1892, 299-300; treaty of
1894, 302; Act of 1902, 303-304;
statistics, 305, 309
Chy Lung v. J. H. Freeman et al.,
288
Citizenship of foreign women, 135,
140, 176-177
City of New York v. Milne, 68-71,
77
Clay, Henry, 47-49
Cleveland, G., 115, 124, 298, 299,
301
Colonial arguments against immi-
gration, 19
Colonial immigration, English, 3;
southern, 4; northern, 4; causes
of, 3-4 ; effects of, 18, 20-21
Colonial immigrants, 5
Colonial legislation, 13-17
Colonial opposition, 6, 9, 13-17, 20-
21
Colonies, racial characteristics of, 3,
19, 20
Commissioner-General of Immigra-
tion, 102, 107, 109, 172, 173, 174,
176, 177, 178, 181, 184, 196, 197,
199, 276, 327
Commissioner of Immigration, 85
Commission on immigration, 113;
recommendations of, 117-122
Commons, J. R., 5, 8, 19, 212, 213,
214, 216
Communism, 221-222
Conin-essional debates of 1790 and
1798, 28-30
374
IXDEX
Constitutional cl.iuses relative to
immigration. 27, 59
Consular reports, 40-42, 44
Continental Congress, resolution of,
22
Contiguous territorv. immigration
from. S9. 97. 104^ 114. 132. 146.
152. 15S. 160-161, 167
Contract labor. 90-92. 95. 104-105.
111. lis. 125. 132-133
Coolidiie. C. 169-170. 175, 1S4, 200,
335-336, 340. 354
Coolie trade, legislation against, S6,
87
Craw-ford. W. H.. 34
Criminals. 12. 13. 15. IS. 36-44. 51-
56, S7-SS, US, 119
Davis, J. J., 174. 175. 1S4. 270
Davis, John, 37-3S
DeMotte, M., 319
Deportation, first case of. 13: right
of. 32. 39. 51-52. SS-89. 92. 93.
97, 107. 112, 114, 115, lis. 120,
134-136. 140. 194. 199. 300. 313
Dept. of Labor. 115
Dillindiam, W. P.. 123. 217-21S
Dillingham-Bumett Bill. 123
Discrimination, 248. 252. 263-265.
268-270. 272. 304. 320. 349-351. 352
Distribution of Immigmnts, S5. 113.
121. 222-223
Dutch colonists, 4
Ekiu v. United States, 96
Elections, effect of imniigratioii in,
34, 45-46, 47-50
English-speaking immigrants, 168
r.verett, A. H.. 44-45
Examination of immigrants. SS. 96,
102
Excess quotas, 148. 150. 161. 162
Excluded classes. S6. 87. SS. 89. 95.
104. 111. 114. 115. lis. 125-126.
127. 135. 199
Exclusion laws. 12S-130. 294-296.
298-299. 303-304, 306-307, 320. 330,
340-341. 353
Exempt classes, under contract la-
bor, 90-91, 96, 105, 132-133: un-
der quota limitations. 143. 145
Fairchild, H. P., 3, 14, 19, 35. 45,
84, 239
Families of immigrants, 173-176
Fish, Hamilton, 42-43
Ford committee, report of, 1889, 94
Franklin, Benjamin, 10. 25
Frelinghuvsen. T., 47-49
Foreign born in U. S., 220, 222-223
Garner, J. W., 252
Gavit, J. P., 227-228
Gegiow V. Uhl, 126
Gentlemen's agreement, 312. 322,
324-325, 326. 327-329. 335
German immigrants. 7-10
Gibbons v. Osden. 61-62. 69, 72
Gillam, J. M., 248-249
Gottlieb case, 161. 179-181
Grant, U. S., 289-290
Groves et al. v. Slaughter, 71-72
Hall. P. F.. 102
Hanihara. 332. 333. 335
Harding. W. G.. 149. 1S4
Hartford Convention. 33-34
Haskin. F. J.. 224-225
Hawaii, 303. 310-311. 322
Head tax, 15, 74, 76, 77, 79, 80, 87-
88. 101. 104. 109. 110. 122, 125
Henderson et al. v. Mayor of New
York et al.. 79
Hexter. M.. 236
Hmdus. 307
Hoover. H.. 275
Hughes. C. E.. 332-333. 352. 354
Huguenots. 10-11
Illiteracv. 102. 103. 115. 122. 123-
124; Act of 1917. 130-132 _
Immigrants, definition of. 171
Immigration Commission. 113; rec-
ommendations of, 117-122
Indentured servants, S-9. 11-13 _
Inspection of immigrants. 15. 35. 36.
41-42. 44. 69. 74. 75. 79. 80-81. 88.
100. 133-134
Iredell, Justice. 61
Italian immigration, 209-212
Jackson, Andrew, 34
Japanese, statistics, 309-311. 315:
Gentlemen's agreement, 312, 322,
324-325, 326. 327-329. 335; picture
brides. 312. 326: Kankodan brides.
312. 329; opposition to. 314; Cal-
ifornia's attitude. 315-321; land
ownership, 319-320. 325-326 :_presi-
dential proclamation of 1907. 321-
322: treaty of 1894. 322-323:
treaty of 1911, 323-324; House
Report. 327-331; surreptitious en-
tries, 329; history of provision in
INDEX
375
Act of 1924, 332-341; Hanihara,
332, 333-335; protests in Japan,
341-343; opinions in U. S., 343-
349, 351-352; fear of discrimina-
tion, 349-350
Jefferson, Thomas, 25-26
Jennings, H. S., 249
Jewish immigration, 214-215
Johnson, A., Foreword, 201, 274-275,
276, 336
Johnson bill, history of, 170-171, 200-
201 ; provisions in, 171
Johnson, Henry, 31, 43
Johnson, Hiram, 278-279
Kankodan brides, 312, 329
Kidnaped immigrants, 11-12
Kirkpatrick, C, 237-238, 249-250
Know-nothing party, 50
Labor, competition of, 45, 103, 111,
119, 124, 219, 225, 290-291, 315,
329; supply of, 35, 121-122
Landownership bv Japanese, 315-
316. 319-320, 325-326
Latitude and longitude clause (see
barred zone)
Laughlin, H. H, 55-56, 239-248,
criticisms of, 248-251
Legislation, colonial, 13-17
Lem Moon Sing v. United States,
102
License cases, 73
Li Sing V. United States, 102
List, F., recommendations of, 41-
42, 190
Literacy (see illiteracy)
Lowell, A. L., 252
Madison, James, 28-29, 59-60
Manifests, 14 16, 35, 36, 69, 77, 79,
83, 99-100, 106, 112, 114, 134
Marshall, Chief Justice, 62
Martin, Luther, 60
May and Pollock, 246
Mayo-Smith, R. (see Smith, R.
Mayo)
Mayo, W. J., 246-247
McClatchy, V. S.. 312, 313, 318-319
McMaster, J. B., 20, 33, 45, 40
McReynolds, S. D., 220-221
Molly Maguire, 50
Moral turpitude, 111, 135
Nationality, definition of, 142-143
National origins, 183, 270-285
Native Americanism, 47-49
Naturalization, 27-32, 47, 50, 121,
225-229
Net immigration, 162, 165
New immigration, 150-151, 155, 158,
160, 167, 204-207, 216, 217, 231-
235, 239, 242, 244
Newspapers, foreign, 221
Non-assimilation (see assimilation)
Non-immigrants, 171-172
Non-quota immigrants, 152, 158,
172-173
Norris v. City of Boston, 63-67, 74-
78
Ochs, A., 265, 268
Old immigration, 150-151, 155, 158,
160, 167, 203-204, 216, 218, 235,
239, 243, 244
Opposition to restriction, 201-202
Orth, S. P., 3, 4, 7, 9, 11, 20
Otis, H. G., 29
Overseas examinations, 41-42, 102,
117-118, 184-192
Passenger cases, 63-67, 74-78
Paupers, deportation to colonies, 12;
deportation to the States, 36-44;
Mass. resolution of 1836, 37; Sen-
ate address of John Davis, 37-38;
conditions in American cities, 39;
Congressional resolutions, 40;
consular reports, 40-44; statistics,
51-57, 76-77, 120
Penn, William, 7-8
People V. Compagnie Generale
Trans-Atlantique, 80-81, 88
Periods of American immigration,
2-3
Perry, M. C, 308
Phelan, J. D, 319-321
Philippine Islands, 109-110
Picture brides, 312, 326
Police power, State regulation un-
der, 35-36
Political phases, 33, 34, 45, 47-50
Popenoe, P., 229
Population, increase of, 1-2
Preferred classes under quotas, 145,
182
Presidential campaigns of 1844 and
1852. 47-50
Presidential powers in emergencies,
98
Prigg V. Commonwealth of Penn-
svlvania, 72-73
Proper, E. E., 15, 16, 17, 21
376
INDEX
&tml powers of the President
concerning, 98 .
?58-262; legislation on, 1^2 181-
182, 183, 254-258; comparison oi
laws on, 253
Reed, D. A., 271, 279-281, 333, 334,
338-339
Reed, J. A., 279-281
Registration of aliens, 301-302
ReFatives of immigrants, 173-1/6,
R^i - "
17, 45-48
Re Simone, 97
Roberts, K. L., 252
ItfJk Theodore, 102-103, 3(^,
314, 328, 332, 351
Root, Elihii, 217 ^.o 01Q
Ross, E. A., 7, 8 11, 218-219
Russian immigration,
Safford, M. V., 223-224
Scotch-Irish 5 7
^^^^^^
Sedgwick, T., 29
Sherman Rjger 28
Shipstead, IL, 275, 282
Sitgreaves, S 30
Smith, K. iviayo, ^, _q
Smith V. Turner, 63-67, 74-7», /y
Smuggling, 156 219-220
Socialists, opposition to, 49, 2iy
221-222
SociaUsm, fear of, 49
Solicitation of immigration, 95 96
Act of 1864, 85
State legislation, 35-36, 74, 75 7h
Steerage legislation, 15, 83-85, U.
120, 133-134
Stella, A., 250-251
Stephens, W. D., 326
Students, immigrant, i/^
Sweeney, A., 232
Taft W H., 115, 123, 124
Taxation of undesirable immigrant
14 15, 74, 79-80
Travel permits, 177-179; cases, 1/8.
179; fees from, 1/9
Tsurumi, Y., 346-349
T^t^lclLo V. Williams 199
U S exrel. Berlm v Rodgers 140
U. S. ex rel. Diamond v. Uhl, 1.8
Tj S V. Johnson, 87
U'. S'. V. Ju Toy, 102
Veterans, alien, 140, 172
Visas, 184-194
Walker, Francis A., 219
Wallis V. United States ex rel.
Mannara 127
Ward, Robt. l^eC. 232 27U
Warne, F. J., 33, 34, 46, 57
Washington, George, 23-24
Webster, Daniel, 31-3i , • ^g^^ior
114 120, 127-128, 136
Whitfield et al. V Hanges, 140
AVilson, James, 61 216-2r
Wilson, Woodrow, 123, 124, ^lo
Woolston, H., 238
1.
i2,
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